California ticketholder WINS $1.76 billion Powerball jackpot after 12 weeks of rollovers: Single ticket scoops the nation’s second-biggest lottery prize in history
A lucky California ticket holder claimed the second-highest ever Powerball jackpot of $1.73 billion on Wednesday night.
The winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball 10.
The single ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, the California Lottery revealed last night.
The huge win ends a long stretch without a winner of the top prize, leading to 12 weeks of turnaround.
The huge jackpot is the world’s second largest lottery prize won only by the $2.04 billion Powerball won by a player in California last November.
The single ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, the California Lottery revealed last night
The winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball 10
Edwin Castro, the winner of the record-breaking $2 billion Powerball jackpot, bought a $47 million Los Angeles compound that was being sold by celebrity realtor Mauricio Umansky.
Castro chose to take the lump sum of $997.6 million. Since then he has been spotted in a Porsche and at homes.
The massive property has seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, a koi pond, and an enormous infinity pool that overlooks all of LA. It adds to his other Bel Air home and a residence in Altadena.
He also bought three separate California mansions for a total of $76 million. He was also seen driving away from a bank in a vintage Porsche.
Before Wednesday’s drawing, another California player matched all six numbers and pocketed $1.08 billion July 19.
Powerballs terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million is designed to generate huge jackpots, with prizes getting bigger and bigger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins. And victories in recent months have been few and far between.
That didn’t bother those eager to plunk down their money on Wednesday for a long shot at instant riches.
Robert Salvato Jr., a 60-year-old electrician, bought 40 Powerball tickets at a hardware store in Billerica, Massachusetts.
“I would take care of family and give my cat that extra leg she needs and make her a good kitten,” said Salvato, who got married Saturday.
“I could put a ring on her every finger, I think,” Salvato said of his new wife.
Nevada is one of five states without Powerball, so friends Tamara Carter and Denise Davis drove from Las Vegas across the state line to California to buy tickets. But the line was so long at their first stop that they gave up and went looking for another store.
“The line was about three hours long,” Carter estimates. “I waited maybe half an hour, and it didn’t move.”
The jackpot has grown enormously as a result of a long dry spell. The previous Powerball winning ticket was sold on July 19 and was worth $1.08 billion after 39 draws without a jackpot win.
At the same hardware store as Salvato, Kevin Button seemed to understand the long odds when he bought a ticket.
“I usually only buy them when the jackpot is high,” Button said. ‘Looks like it’s been pretty high lately. So I’ve tried quite a few times and haven’t even won a free ticket yet. But maybe tonight is the night.’
In most states, a Powerball ticket costs $2 and players can choose their own numbers or leave that task to a computer.
The $1.73 billion jackpot is for a sole winner who opts for payment by means of an annuity, distributed over 30 years. Winners almost always take the cash option, which is estimated at $756.6 million for Wednesday night’s drawing.
Winnings will be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.