There is a winner! Lottery officials announced early Thursday that a single ticket sold in California matched all six numbers drawn Wednesday night to win a jackpot worth $1.08 billion. The lucky ticket holder beat the odds of 1 in 292.2 million to bring home the enormous jackpot. The Associated Press has the story:
Powerball Jackpot has a winner for $1 Billion
Newslooks- LOS ANGELES (AP)
A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game.
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24. The California Lottery said on Twitter that the winning ticket was sold in Los Angeles at Las Palmitas Mini Market.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1 billion to $1.08 billion at the time of the drawing, moving it from the seventh largest to the sixth largest U.S lottery jackpot ever won.
The winner can choose either the total jackpot paid out in yearly increments or a $558.1 million, one-time lump sum before taxes.
The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players. The largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion Powerball in November.
The last time someone had won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one had won the grand prize.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
