Powerball player wins 1.3 billion US dollar jackpot
7 April 2024, 12:14
The last time the lottery’s top prize was won was New Year’s Day.
A Powerball player has won a jackpot of more than 1.3 billion US dollars, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months.
The winning numbers drawn early on Sunday morning were 22, 27, 44, 52 and 69, and the red Powerball was number 9.
A single ticket, held by a player in Oregon, matched all six numbers drawn to 1.326 billion dollars (£1.049 billion), Powerball said in a statement.
Until the latest draw, no-one had won Powerball’s top prize since New Year’s Day, amounting to 41 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner, tying a streak set twice before in 2022 and 2021.
The 1.3 billion dollar prize ranks as the eighth largest in US lottery history and is for a sole winner who chooses an annuity, paid over 30 years.
Winners who opt for cash would be paid 608.9 million dollars (£481.7 million).
The prizes are subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
As the prizes grow, the draws attract more ticket sales and the jackpots subsequently become harder to hit. The game’s long odds for the draw were 1 in 292.2 million.
Saturday night’s scheduled draw was held up and took place in the Florida Lottery studio just before 2.30am on Sunday to enable one of the organisers to complete required procedures before the scheduled time of 10.59pm, Powerball said in a statement.
“Powerball game rules require that every single ticket sold nationwide be checked and verified against two different computer systems before the winning numbers are drawn,” the statement said.
“This is done to ensure that every ticket sold for the Powerball drawing has been accounted for and has an equal chance to win. Tonight, we have one jurisdiction that needs extra time to complete that pre-draw process.”
Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
