Lottery officials on Wednesday drew the winning numbers for the biggest-ever $1.5 billion Powerball lottery jackpot, as ticket holders across the US held out hope they possess the combination to become North America's newest billionaire.

The six winning numbers were 08 27 34 04 19 and Powerball 10. They were picked during a 10:59 p.m. EST (0359 GMT) drawing at lottery offices in Tallahassee, Florida.

It may take several hours to determine if anyone has picked the six winning numbers, said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas lottery, at a news conference.

The jackpot is the world's largest potential prize for a single winner.

If no one holds the winning numbers, the money will be rolled over for Saturday's drawing, pushing the annuitized prize to an estimated $2 billion, with a cash value of $1.24 billion, said Kelly Cripe, spokeswoman for the lottery in Texas, one of the participating states.

The payout is worth nearly $930 million if a winner chooses an immediate cash payout instead of annual payments over 29 years, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C. and two US territories.

"If I win, I'll give it all away to poor people," said New York restaurant deliveryman Osman Gamie, 43, after buying a dozen of the $2 tickets at a midtown Manhattan grocery.

"I don't like to live like the rich man - too many headaches," said Gamie, a new US citizen from Bangladesh.

Odds of picking a winning combination are 1 in 292 million.

The ticket-buying mania was expected to reach a rate of $1.3 million per minute during the evening commuter rush hour, Grief said.

Powerball sales are "exponentially higher" than normal, Grief said. Since the jackpot was last hit on Nov. 4, 2015, a total of $2.65 billion in Powerball tickets have been sold, Grief said.

For every $1 worth of Powerball sales, 50 per cent goes to prizes, 40 per cent to causes such as education, and 10 per cent to retailers who sell the tickets and other administrative costs, Grief said.

"It's amazing; it's crazy," said Milwaukee Wal-Mart worker Juan Galindo, 41, who sought to pump up his luck by purchasing tickets at three different locations in Wisconsin.

Tatiann Cave, a 23-year-old home health aide, said she would use the jackpot to start her own cosmetics business.

"I'd like to quit my job and do something inspiring," Cave said. – Reuters