Powerball is soaring past the record for the biggest jackpot in U.S. history. 
 
 It hit $800 million on Friday. The previous jackpot record was held by a 2012 MegaMillions game worth $656 million. 
 
 The current jackpot reached $700 million Thursday after nobody won the jackpot on Wednesday night -- the 18th drawing without a winner. 
 
 The next drawing is on Saturday night. 
 
 This jackpot first broke into the top 10 largest jackpots ranking last weekend, when it hit $400 million, and ticket sales have continued to soar. 
 
 Related: Top 10 biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history 
 
 The current jackpot has been growing since November 7. 
 
 Powerball is sold in 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ||||| LANSING, MI -- This Saturday's Powerball jackpot is now $800 million. 
 
 That's increase of $100 million in the last 24 hours. 
 
 Could America's first $1 Billion jackpot become a reality by the time winning numbers are revealed at 10:59 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 9, 2016)? 
 
 "Difficult to say, since it all depends on player purchases," said Michigan Lottery spokesman Jeff Holyfield. 
 
 "However, players already were flocking to the stores this morning and that was before the $100 million jump to $800 million." 
 
 As of 11 a.m. (Jan. 8, 2016), players already have bought nearly 600,000 tickets today for tomorrow night's drawing. 
 
 Michigan players have bought more than 2.3 million tickets for the drawing. For Wednesday night's drawing, they purchased 6.3 million. 
 
 "We project the strong player interest in the record jackpot will push purchases well past the 6.3 million mark," Holyfield said. 
 
 The deadline to purchase tickets is 9:45 p.m. Saturday. 
 
 The $1 Billion Jackpot could happen if sales continue at this place. 
 
 Holyfield said the expectation late Thursday night was that it would hit $1 billion if the jackpot rolled over Saturday night. 
 
 "With the extremely high level of player purchases in Michigan and around the country, that $1 billion could be on tap for Saturday night's drawing," he said. 
 
 Come back to MLive.com/lottery for continuous coverage throughout the weekend. 
 
 For the latest on Michigan Lottery, check out MLive.com's lottery page for Daily 3, Daily 4, Keno, Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life winning numbers and more. 
 
 The official Michigan Lottery page is at michiganlottery.com. 
 
 John Gonzalez is a statewide entertainment writer for MLive. He covers food, travel, events and coordinates Michigan's Best. Email him at gonzo@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
– The jackpot for this Saturday's Powerball drawing is already the highest jackpot in US history, and it's likely it could soon become the country's first $1 billion jackpot. Michigan Live reports the jackpot is up to $800 million—an increase of $100 million in the past 24 hours. If the current pace of ticket sales continues, it should hit $1 billion by the drawing on Saturday night. The previous high jackpot was $656 million for a MegaMillions game back in 2012, according to CNN. There have now been 18 straight Powerball drawings without a winner, dating back to Nov. 7. So is it worth buying a ticket? "Playing the lottery is a bad idea, financially speaking," Time notes. But the value of a $2 Powerball ticket can actually increase if the jackpot gets large enough, which makes buying one slightly less of a bad idea, mathematically speaking. According to Time, in order for a Powerball ticket to be worth more than the $2 it costs, the jackpot would have to hit $1.2 billion, taking into account federal taxes and the possibility of multiple winners. With an $800 million jackpot, the expected value of a $2 Powerball ticket is currently a piddly $1.01. You should probably read the whole explainer to understand.