One person in Tennessee is $259.8 million richer after picking the winning numbers in the Wednesday Powerball lottery drawing.
The winning numbers drawn for the multi-state lottery's jackpot are 14, 18, 25, 33, and 49, with Powerball number 23. The Tennessee lottery website said the winning ticket was sold in Knoxville.
If the winner chooses the cash payout, it would be worth $153.5 million.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175,223,510. The Powerball jackpot has been climbing since April 26. There were 14 consecutive drawings conducted without a winner before it was hit Wednesday night.
The $259.8 million annuity is the 35th-largest jackpot ever won in the United States, and Powerball's 19th-largest in game history. The lump-sum cash value of #153.5 million is the 30th-largest ever seen in United States lottery history, and the 14th-largest ever for the Powerball game.
In the last two years, Powerball prizes have increased considerably, due to ticket prices doubling to $2, and California, the nation's most populous state, joining 42 other states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands in playing the game.
The biggest winner in the history of Powerball took home $590 million before taxes after purchasing a winning ticket in May 2013 in Florida.
In August 2013, a Powerball jackpot worth $448 million was shared by three winning tickets held by a man in Ham Lake, Minn., a man in Monmouth Junction, N.J., and a group of 16 co-workers in Ocean County, N.J.
The largest lottery jackpot ever was a Mega Millions drawing in 2012 for $656 million. That prize was split among winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland.
Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday.
Congrats to the winner(s)!
rdgrnr? Did ya finally hit one?
Wishing we could get a powerball winner in north carolina
4 year drought here... Anyways congrats to the winner
Purchase the Ferrari California I always wanted
The dragon lady, is about to make an entrance, and claim responsibility, for making it happen.
Congrats to the lucky winner.
Boo Ya for Knoxville Tennessee winner. He they invest wisely.
Congratulation to the wiiner/s.......
hope it's you Ridge
Congrats to the lucky winner!
Well, congratulations to the winner.
Hmmmm, my brother lives in Knoxville. Maybe I should give him a call.....
SEE
It is fixed!
Tennessee always wins!
Ooooooooooops LOL
Congrats to the winner!
She needed a sale booster,she got one.
Congrats to the winner(s)!
Hope it's Ridge.
Finally came down from your Mountain retreat huh Rider!
Congratulations to all!
Maybe it is!!
Congratulations to the lucky winner.
2x in 6 months for Tennessee
That's rdgnr's neck of the woods. Hope the lottery Gods blessed his ticket. It would be nice to finally have someone from LP hit it big.
Thanks everybody but Knoxville is the Wild Wild West from where I'm at back up in here.
It was probably some New York City Banker who came down to foreclose on some widow's houses or something like that.
I was hoping it was you too my brother....(sigh) Oh well, onward and upward Ridge.
#@*$#$&%* and the MegaMillions' JP appears to be decreasing not increasing every time I look at it. Taking too long to grow.
People have stopped caring about the lottery altogether.
The LOTTERY is more desperate for money than the players.
Mega millions is a RIPOFF. $5,000 for 4 numbers plus the Mega ball with odds of 1 in 739,688.
Well, it looks like there will be no jackpot frenzy this summer.
They need to create a national lottery game with a $100 Million starting jackpot.
People are not too thrill to play the lottery like they used to.
I was hoping the jackpot would get to $300 million,but it seems like someone always wins before the jackpot gets too big. Yeah there haven't been any big jackpots lately, kind of disappointing since I only play when the jackpots get really big(over 300 million).
I'm getting tickets for Saturday's Powerball drawing. $40 million sounds good to me.
They had a 61 mil winner earlier this year, other then that it's pretty dry there for wins.
I'm in. Sounds good to me too!
No state tax. There'll be hootin an hollerin around the campfire for sure! Congrats to the lucky winner!