While there were three jackpot-winning tickets from Florida, Tennessee and California which will split the $1.6 billion jackpot, the drawing created 89 new millionaires across the country.
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Tickets sold in California, Tennessee and Florida won Wednesday’s world record $1.6 billion Powerball drawing.
Lottery officials often note that while the jackpot gets all the attention, far more players get a nice consolation prize of $1 million for matching the five white balls but missing the Powerball.
The biggest Powerball victor is actually state government in the jurisdictions that participate. The Power Play multiplier drawn for last night’s drawing was 2, thus doubling the $50,000 prize.
As seen in the above photo, the man pictured is Balbir Atwal, the owner of the Chino Hills, California, 7-Eleven store at the center of plenty of news stories since it sold one of the winning Powerball tickets.
The previous United States jackpot record of US$656 million, on Mar 30, 2012, was scooped up by three winners from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas.
The winning tickets sold at the Glenview Citgo and at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg matched the first five numbers, 4-8-19-27-34, to each win $1 million. However, even if you didn’t win the billions, you still could have won some money. The store has sold winning tickets before, estimated at several thousand dollars, but nothing like this. The one in Chino Hills, where the winning ticket was sold, was the third franchise he purchased and he has owned it for 24 years.
After paying the 39.6 percent federal income tax for their prize money, each of the Powerball winners would ultimately take home $187.2 million, which could be paid through a multi-year annuity or a lump-sum cash payment, according to CNN Money. Hundreds of people crowded into the 7-Eleven store, chanting “Chino Hills!”
A California Lottery spokesman is encouraging the state’s Powerball victor to be prepared with lawyers, accountants and financial planners.
Channel 2 Action News also confirmed that two $1 million tickets were sold in Atlanta and Douglas, Georgia. Susan Wright only bought one ticket and she picked her own numbers.
As more people play Powerball, the chances for a victor improve, simply because more of the 292.2 million possible number combinations are covered.
The winners in Florida and Tennessee have not come forward, lottery officials in those states said.
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“I haven’t decided yet, but I know I won’t be in Atlanta anymore”, Harrington said.
