A lottery player in California has won a $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot drawn Wednesday night, ending a 35 week stretch without a winner of the top prize.
The winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball 10.
The ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, according to the California Lottery.
The owner of the store identified as Duke expects that the jackpot winner will be a local resident.
Before someone won the giant prize, there had been 35 consecutive drawings without a big winner, stretching back to July 19 when a player in California matched all six numbers and won $1.08 billion.
The jackpot is the world’s second-largest lottery prize after rolling over for 36 consecutive drawings.
That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022. Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier advertised estimate of $1.73 billion for Wednesday night’s drawing.
The only top prize that was ever bigger was the $2.04 billion Powerball won by a player in California last November.
Powerball’s terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes becoming ever larger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins. And wins in recent months have been few and far between.
The $1.765 billion jackpot is for a sole winner who opts for payment through an annuity, doled out over 30 years. Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Wednesday night’s drawing was estimated at $774.1 million.
Winnings would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Reported by Chicago Tribune
