Lottery fever is sweeping across the Garden State — and across the rest of the nation — today as the hours tick closer to Saturday night’s huge Powerball drawing.

What’s all the fuss about?

For seven weeks in a row, no lottery players in any of the 43 states taking part in this game has matched all six winning numbers. If ticket sales keep up their rapid pace, the jackpot could skyrocket past $550 million, securing its spot as the second biggest Powerball jackpot in the history of the multistate game and the third largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.

To put this all in perspective, here’s a look at the top jackpots ever won in America, and where Saturday’s projected jackpot fits in:

BIGGEST U.S. LOTTERY JACKPOTS

• $656 million— Mega Millions jackpot on March 30, 2012; three winning tickets (Illinois, Kansas and Maryland)
• $587.5 million— Powerball jackpot on Nov. 28, 2012; two winning tickets (Arizona and Missouri)

If ticket sales continue at their current pace, the Powerball jackpot for Saturday night, May 18, could hit or exceed $550 million, making it one of the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.Len Melisurgo/The Star-Ledger

• $550 million— The projected Powerball jackpot for Saturday, May 18, 2013. (The numbers will be drawn at 11 p.m., and the results will be posted here on NJ.com)
• $390 million— Mega Millions jackpot on March 6, 2007; two winning tickets (Georgia and New Jersey)
• $380 million— Mega Millions jackpot on Jan. 4, 2011; two winning tickets (Idaho and Washington state)
• $365 million— Powerball jackpot on Feb. 18, 2006; one winning ticket (Nebraska)
• $363 million— Big Game (the lottery game that later became Mega Millions) jackpot on May 9, 2000; two winning tickets (Illinois and Michigan)
• $340 million— Powerball jackpot on Oct. 19, 2005; one winning ticket (Oregon)
• $338.3 million —Powerball jackpot on March 23, 2013; one winning ticket (Passaic, N.J.)

Len Melisurgo/The Star-LedgerPowerball tickets on display in this Star-Ledger file photo.

• $337 million— Powerball jackpot on Aug. 15, 2012; one winning ticket (Michigan)
• $336.4 million— Powerball jackpot on Feb. 11, 2012; one winning ticket (Rhode Island)
• $333 million— Mega Millions jackpot on Aug. 28, 2009, two winning tickets (California and New York)
• $331 millionThe Big Game jackpot on April 16, 2002; three winning tickets (Georgia, Illinois and New Jersey)
• $330 millionMega Millions jackpot on Aug. 31, 2007; four winning tickets: (New Jersey, Maryland, Texas and Virginia)
• $319 millionMega Millions jackpot on March 25, 2011; one winning ticket (New York)

Sources: The Star-Ledger, Mega Millions, Philly.com and Wikipedia

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