Mega Millions jackpot worth $207M still up for grabs
A torrent of ticket sales sent the Poweball jackpot soaring again, to $259.9 million — up $15 million since the $245 million estimate was established Saturday — and then one ticket won last night.
Unless you bought your Powerball ticket in South Carolina, your only shot at a $200+ million lottery jackpot is tomorrow night's Mega Millions drawing.
The store that sold the ticket is the Murphy USA gas station at 7530 Garners Ferry Road in Columbia, located near the Wal-Mart store, according to a press release by the state lottery commission.
The $259,900,000 ticket is the 10th-largest Powerball jackpot ever and the biggest in South Carolina since its inception in 2002.
The lucky winner can also choose to take the massive prize as a lump-sum cash payment of $129.5 million.
According to the Powerball Jackpot Analysis page at USA Mega (www.usamega.com/powerball-jackpot.asp?d=8/19/2009), the cash option payout to the winner after federal and state tax withholdings will be $88,060,000.
A news conference is planned to be held Thursday at the Columbia store.
Amber Baldwin is an assistant manager and she said she's been selling even more tickets since the announcement was made.
The winning numbers for the Wednesday, August 19, Powerball drawing were 14-24-31-43-51, with a Powerball number of 27. The Power Play number was 5.
The winner has 90 days from the official end of the game to cash in the ticket.
17 lucky players got very close to lottery mega-wealth by matching the first 5 numbers for a $200,000 prize. Those second-prize tickets were sold in the following states: 2 from Arizona, 3 from Florida (1 with Power Play), 2 from Indiana (both with Power Play), 1 from Iowa (with Power Play), 1 from Kentucky, 1 from Minnesota, 1 from North Carolina, 2 from Pennsylvania, 1 from West Virginia, and 3 from Wisconsin.
The second-prize tickets sold with the Power Play option will receive a prize of $1 million. Power Play may be purchased for an additional $1 per ticket.
Powerball's top prize is back to $20 million for Saturday's drawing.
The biggest current jackpot in the USA is the $207 million up for grabs in the Mega Millions lottery, which will be drawn Friday night at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Mega Millions is played in 12 states.
The winning numbers for the highly-anticipated Mega Millions drawing will be published within minutes of the draw time on the USA Mega Web site (www.usamega.com).
Powerball is played in 30 states, including Delaware.
USA Mega is a national resource for the United States' two major multi-state games, Powerball and Mega Millions. Players can access USA Mega for the latest winning numbers, as well as past results, lottery news stories, jackpot analysis that presents after-tax jackpot amounts for each individual state, lottery results statistics, and an extensive archive of frequently asked questions about the games.
A big congrats to the winner(s)!!!
OKKKKKKKK, so who on this site won it?
Ok i'm so now i'm thinking of driving to Georgia to buy a mega millions ticket LOL
Congrats to the winner(s).......I really wanted to win this money and move out from My Mom house and have a life fo myself.....Anyways there is Mega million......I gotta buy my tix now....Good Luck to all....
Some hicks(oops) struck it rich in South Carolina! Would be nice to be related to the Son-of-a-Gun.
Now see that kind of thinking just sets me off. I would never dream of asking anyone, even a relative for money, no matter how much they had. I would be grateful if they offered it and graciously accept but just because someone shares your DNA doesn't make you entitled to anything they have. Plus there's a little thing called the gift tax, remember???
Well Congrats to my fellow SC resident......(LUCKY B******) I just hope we don't get anoter Jack Whittaker or a David Edwards to make SC look worse...................OH well I guess I will have to concentrate ont he measly $207 millioin MEGA MILLIONS pot for the time being......LMAO!!!!!
Congratulations to the winner(s)!!!!!
yeah, congrats to the winner...if they on this site...that ticket was suppose to sell about an hour and a half further southeast.....i even went and got a ticket in litebet27 name since they didn't get to get one...gee, do something nice and someone else get the cake...gee...lol....congrats to them...maybe i should save up for the next 6 months...SC won't have another winner for a while...
My congrats to the lucky winner or winners once again,it's about time for one of us to win the big one,thanks for putting S.C. on the map in a good way!
Congrats to the winner if they are not idiots !
I wanted an enormous jackpot, but I would take $10,000.000 cash on Saturday !
Congrats to the winner!
was it a quickpick?
I beleive it's qp... I'm sooo stupid why did I not drive to SC or Tennesee??? A big congrats to the lucky winner!!!! They are so <snip> lucky!!!
Darnit, now I've got to go to Illinois and get a MegaMillions. Why, during the week of no gas money, does the jackpot have to be so high!??! LOL I can't believe I didn't even get one stinkin' number for Powerball!
nothing sinister intended! not even asking for handouts. i have relative in Columbia. If we're not creating a celebrating, we hope someone we know is. we all jump for joy when our Dada, Moma, Brothers or Sisters receive good news. whether its welcoming a new baby or welcoming 256M into their lives.
So...? Any news about this world being a small world?
I wish I had the winning ticket, but congrats to the person(s) who did win!
It's so EXCITING having someone finally win big here in SC. I work 15 minutes from that gas station. Passed it a couple of weeks ago...oh well. When the time is right I hope it will be my turn. Congrats!!!
This article says the winner has 90 days to claim the prize but the ways to win page lists it at 180?
From South Carolina Education Lottery website
Player FAQ
Q: How long do I have to redeem a prize I won on a scratch-off ticket?
A: You have 90 days after the official end of the game. The official end of games will be posted at our retail locations as well as on our website.
Q: How long do I have to redeem a prize I won on an online ticket?
A: Pick 3, Pick 4, Palmetto Cash 5, MegaMatch 6SM and Powerball® tickets can be redeemed up to 180 days after the draw date printed on the ticket. Check ending game dates on the Prizes Remaining Report that is updated daily.
The writer must have gotten confused.
oh no!!!!!!
good luck 2 u, u must be a nut
I would like to congratulate the winner of this gigantic prize. I was hoping it would have been SwampFox that won it. I'm still pulling for you swampy....keep trying. Good luck.
I really don't think that someone who can actually handle such amount of money won.
I just bought my Mega Milliion tickets today:)
All I can do is hope for the best:)
Besides, the only way to win is to keep playing the Mega Millions game.
I hate when people say "Oh, you'll never win that lottery. You have better chances of getting struck by lightning.
Well, if that was true, why do people win the Powerball or Mega Millions lottery at all?
If that was the case, no one should ever win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Even though the Powerball odds of winning is 1:195 million and the Mega Millions odds are 1:175 million someone still eventually wins the jackpot. That jackpot winner's life is going to be changed forever. I think that is what attracts people to these high-end jackpots. Everybody wants to be that lucky jackpot winner.
That's why I think these lottery games are going to keep going for a while. So, why not spend a $1 to buy a Powerball or Mega Millions ticket. It might just be your lucky day:)
Congrats to the Winner!
Getting my MM tickets tomorrow. It's time to hit in Michigan.....
WOW!
WOW!
WOW! WHAT A HUGE FINANCIAL GAIN!!!!!!
MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT PICK MY TICKET TONIGHT - I WANT YOU!!!
Congratulations to the winner. I purposely did not look at the winning numbers, i wanted to wait. then my neighbor told me someone from SC won. I planned to wait several days then see if the winner came forward. well, i decided to read posts about winning ticket. I then read where ticket was sold, wow, i was praying they would say winning ticket sold in mccormick, sc. oh well, i had a couple to days of daydreaming! smile.
Can't wait to see who won, even though i would never, ever come forward for the press if it was me. God Bless them. They have the good type Stressor. I read a book years ago, which said, "I'd rather cry my tears on satin sheets than cotton". I would love to have that type of good stress the winners will have.
Well, let go to quicken to balance my checkbook now! LOL