One ticket sold in Oregon matched all six numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing to win the $340 million jackpot, the second-largest ever in United States history.
The drawing capped off a day of heavy sales in all 27 states where Powerball is played, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
It was the largest jackpot in the game's history and the second-biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
The winning numbers drawn Wednesday evening were 7, 21, 43, 44, 49 and 29.
There were 49 tickets sold that matched the first five numbers drawn but failed to match the Powerball to win $853,492.
The second prize was much larger than its normal $200,000 amount, due to a feature in Powerball that distributes much of the jackpot prize money down to the second prize when the jackpot reaches record levels. The feature, called the Match 5 Bonus Prize, was put in use last night for the first time ever, even though the rule was added more than three years ago.
The Powerball jackpot had been snowballing since mid-August, with 20 straight drawings in which no one won the grand prize.
The prize goes to an estimated $15 million for Saturday.
There were a total of 49 tickets that matched the first five numbers, but missed the Powerball: 4 from Arizona, 2 from Colorado, 2 from Washington, D.C., 2 from Indiana, 1 from Iowa, 1 from Kansas, 4 from Kentucky (1 with Power Play), 3 from Louisiana, 4 from Minnesota, 3 from Missouri, 1 from New Hampshire, 4 from Oregon, 10 from Pennsylvania, 1 from Rhode Island, 3 from South Carolina, 1 from Vermont, 1 from U.S. Virgin Islands (with Power Play), 1 from West Virginia and 1 from Wisconsin.
The second prize winners who purchased the Power Play feature will receive a prize of $1,653,492 (before taxes). The prize is calculated by taking the normal prize of $200,000, multiplying it by the Power Play number that was drawn (5), and then adding the Match 5 Bonus Prize money of $653,492. The Match 5 Bonus Prize is not multiplied by Power Play.
Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, said hundreds of ticket buyers had played a set of numbers from the ABC drama "Lost," which featured a character who won $156 million by playing a string of digits obtained from a patient in a mental institution: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.
"I just think it speaks to people's fascination with numbers and the what-if factor," Neubauer said.
The odds of hitting all six numbers were 1 in 146 million.
"There were 49 tickets sold that matched the first five numbers drawn but failed to match the Powerball to win $853,492."
Not a bad consolation prize in my humble opinion !
DD
Congrats to the big winner! Do yourself a favor, and do a search in the Lottery Post News forum for "whittaker" (going back to the beginning of the date range), and read up on what NOT to do.
Congrats to the big winner! Do yourself a favor, and do a search in the Lottery Post News forum for "whittaker" (going back to the beginning of the date range), and read up on what NOT to do.
That's a big AMEN!! I really think everyone should read about him. When I first started playing (about 3wks ago) I checked for winners stories, and his came up. I was blown away. The story it self was written poorly, but it made me think.
THE STORY SHOULD BE MANTORY!
lol
Stephanie
Yes,
Please don't be a Whittaker...
Be smart.
Congrats to the big winner and also to the lucky second tier winners! So will $340 mill now be the new yardstick before the cap comes into effect?
Yes it will be the next cap will be at $365,000,000
Brad
Second place, with the Power Play option, will be a nice amount. Forty-seven people are wishing they has chosen to spend the extra buck. Then again, if they were like me, they were putting their money on the grand prize, not second place. Now that I won zilch, second place is looking super great!
I can picture this person looking at their ticket, hand starting to shake, a warm rush going throught their body, and a high pitched ringing in their ear that drowns out all other noise.... wonder what this persons last reasonable thought was, before their world just took that sudden change in course, and is starting to head to the realm of the unimaginable.
NY Lotto also hit last night by one person. Guess $17M annuity isn't as exciting.
Have your lawyer contact the lottery director tell the director your wishes for claming the ticket if you do not want to go public tell your lawyer to set up a private meeting with the lottery director possibly arriving at a rear or side entrance rather than the front door? More than likely media will be present. You might want to avoid that situation. Remember to try and stay calm let your emotions and feelings settle down a bit before making any big decisions. Have fun with it it's the beginning of a lifetime of new challenges and changes.
To the winner: Don't forget to mention Lottery Post in your press conference!
NY Lotto also hit last night by one person. Guess $17M annuity isn't as exciting.
What a shame. I was just about to start playing again next week.
Yes it will be the next cap will be at $365,000,000
Brad
More than likely it will.
There's always the possibility though, that the jackpot for one drawing will land between $340 and $365 million, say $357 million. So the cap would occur next time, at $382 million.
NY Lotto also hit last night by one person. Guess $17M annuity isn't as exciting.
How do you manage to always see the dark side of things?
Congratulations to the person who won in New York and to the Powerball winner as well.