Georgia's biggest lottery winners come forward

By Kate Northrop

ATLANTA, Ga. — The Georgia Lottery announced Tuesday that two winners have come forward this week to claim a $478.2 million Powerball jackpot, the largest prize ever won in state history.

Within two weeks of scooping up Georgia's largest lottery prize, two individuals have been confirmed as the winners of the $478.2 million Powerball jackpot from the Oct. 23 drawing.

On Monday, the two anonymous winners stepped forward to claim their multi-million, record-setting prize. They chose to receive it as the cash option, which amounts to $230,655,360 before taxes and will be shared between the two of them evenly.

According to USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis, the winners will receive $132.66 million after all federal and state taxes are deducted.

This win surpasses the previous state record held by a Mega Millions winner from Stone Mountain, who claimed half of a $648 million jackpot and received a cash option of $173 million before taxes.

"This is an incredible moment in Georgia Lottery history, and we are thrilled to congratulate Georgia's newest and largest Powerball winners," Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said in a press release. "This is a life-changing win, and we are so excited to celebrate with our lucky winners."

The winners chose to remain anonymous, as permitted under Georgia state law. Lottery Post maintains a state-by-state guide to lottery winner anonymity laws.

The lifechanging Powerball Quick Pick ticket was purchased at Quick Mart on Buford Dam Road in Buford and matched the winning white ball numbers 2, 15, 27, 29, and 39, along with the red Powerball number 20. The Power Play multiplier was 2.

For selling the jackpot-winning ticket, the retailer received a $50,000 bonus from the Lottery.

Official drawing videos for the Oct. 23 drawing can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday night at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time with a jackpot amount of $75 million.

Powerball is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.

Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com).  The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.