The Powerball Jackpot is now at a staggering $400 million, and the next drawing happens tonight! With that in mind, experts have come out of the woodwork with their ideas on how to make the prize worth $221 million in cash ALL YOURS!

According to the Chicago-Tribune, the jackpot ballooned to the near-record breaking price when no winning tickets were bought on Saturday. The average jackpot payout is approximately $200 million, after taxes and fees.

One of the most prominent "lottery experts" is none other than Richard Lustig, who told CBS that he has won the lottery seven times, and has written a book on how to increase your chances of winning the lottery. (Although one should note: he's been playing the lottery every day for the past 25 years, and has only won seven times. Not exactly flawless numbers.) But the first bit of advice Lustig gives is to NOT use the "quick pick" option -- you'll have better odds if you choose your own numbers."The lazy way out is to buy quick-picks. The computer picks out the numbers. Don't play quick-picks. Quick-picks are the worst thing you can do, you are playing with the worst odds," he says.

In addition, Lustig recommends that you play the same numbers every time you play the lottery -- even if your numbers don't get chosen that day, they will eventually get chosen -- and to research the most commonly drawn numbers in your area to increase your odds of getting a winning combination.

For more practical advice, consider About.com's simple statement: play the right games. Lottery games like MegaMillions and Powerball draw from national pools, so your odds of winning are relatively low. Depending on which state you live in, however, your chances of winning increase. For example, the average odds of winning a New York scratch-off game is about 1 in 12; the average odds of winning a Florida scratch-off game is about 1 in 4 (or 25 percent).