A player in California won the $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot on Wednesday night, ending a long drought without a jackpot winner.
The winning numbers are: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and Powerball 10. The winning ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Fraser Park, according to the California Lottery.
Calls to Midway Market Liquor Co. on Wednesday night went unanswered.
“The phone has been ringing off the hook, people saying congratulations. It’s crazy,” the store’s night clerk, who calls himself Duke, told KCAL-TV.
“Someone owes me a truck,” he said with a laugh. “A lot of customers come in, you know they come in religiously every day and buy tickets. A lot of them… say, ‘Oh, if I win, I’ll give you a new truck. “So where’s my truck? I’ll wait.”
He expects the winners to be local residents.
Before anyone won the jackpot, there had been 35 consecutive drawings without a winner, dating back to July 19 When a player in California matched all six numbers and won $1.08 billion.
The jackpot is the second largest lottery prize in the world after 36 consecutive draws since the last time someone won it. Top prize on July 19th. This streak of draws trails the previous record of 41 ties set in 2021 and 2022.
The only bigger top prize is $2.04 billion Powerball Last November, a contestant from California won.
Powerball’s terrible odds The 1 in 292.2 million jackpot is designed to generate huge jackpots that will keep rolling in until no one wins, making them bigger and bigger. Victories have been few and far between in recent months.
That doesn’t faze those eager to put their money down on Wednesday for a chance to get rich overnight.
Robert Salvato Jr., a 60-year-old electrician, purchased 40 Powerball tickets at a hardware store in Billerica, Massachusetts.
“I take care of my family and give my cat the extra leg she needs to be a good cat,” said Salvatore, who got married on Saturday.
“I thought I could put a ring on every finger of hers,” Salvatore said of his new wife.
Nevada is one of five states without Powerball, so friends Tamara Carter and Denise Davis drove across the state line from Las Vegas into California to buy tickets. But the queue at the first stop was so long that they gave up and looked for another store.
“The line was about three hours long,” Carter estimated. “I waited for about half an hour and it still didn’t move.”
Due to the long drought, the jackpot became huge. The last winning Powerball ticket was sold on July 19, after 39 draws without a win, and was worth $1.08 billion.
At the same hardware store as Salvatore, Kevin Button bought a lottery ticket, seemingly understanding the long odds.
“I usually only buy them when the jackpot is really high,” Barton said. “It seems to be high a lot lately. So I tried several times and couldn’t even get a free ticket. 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 the computer.
The $1.73 billion jackpot is awarded to the sole winner who chooses to pay through annuity, issued for more than 30 years. Winners almost always choose the cash option, with Wednesday night’s drawing estimated at $756.6 million.
Winnings are 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.
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