Waterloo Blackhawks promotion could earn fans part of $550M Powerball winnings

In case you haven't heard, there's a mighty big Powerball purse to be won tonight. A drawing held this past Saturday saw no winners, and in that time the pot has grown over $225 million to a monstrous $550 million heading into the 10:59 p.m. ET. announcement.

Noticing the Powerball frenzy, Doug Miller, president of the USHL's Waterloo Blackhawks, thought it'd be a neat idea if the team purchased tickets and, should they hit the jackpot, distribute the winnings to fans.

So what Miller did was buy tickets using the numbers of each player on the Blackhawks' roster. Because Powerball numbers only go up to 59 and the team features a No. 71 (Brandon Salerno) and No. 91 (Taylor Cammarata), he instead used different tickets for a No. 7 and No. 1 and a No. 9 and No. 1.

Should Miller be fortunate enough to hold the winning numbers, the money will then be split among fans who have purchased a ticket to their game on Friday against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Fans must have purchased their game ticket before the last Powerball number is called tonight.

"It'll be an even split of whatever the final payout is. Of course, Uncle Sam's got to get his. Oh, and I need my $10 back that I bought the tickets with," Miller said jokingly.

Tickets went on sale today for Friday's game, so it's still early for the Blackhawks to measure how big of spike in purchases they've received, but the response so far has been good.

Miller said he hopes fans buy season tickets, which go up to $421, should they find luck on their side. Young Arena in Waterloo seats about 3,000 per game, so after taxes and splitting the amount evenly, that's enough to leave them with season ticket money and plenty of cash to buy almost half of the NHL.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy