There are at least three winning tickets in the United States for the record $1.6bn (£1.1bn) lottery jackpot, officials have said.
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About an hour after the draw, no other states had reported that they sold a winning ticket for the world’s largest potential jackpot for a single player.
People wait to enter a California lotto store on the Nevada/California state line.
One of the winners was sold at a 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, California, said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the state’s lottery. California does not apply state taxes to lottery winnings. But ticket holders face tough odds of an incredible 1 in 292.2 million that their numbers will have come up. Video posted on YouTube showed the crowds smiling for TV cameras, cheering and chanting “Chino Hills!”
California lotto officials tweeted nearly immediately after that a winning ticket was sold in the state.
The winning numbers for the Powerball jackpot were 8-27-34-4-19-10.
Clerks process tickets for the Powerball lottery at a Pilot convenience store, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in Tallapoosa, Ga.
The store where the victor bought the ticket will get a million-dollar bonus for selling it, Mr Traverso said.
Lottery officials had said 85.8 percent of possible number combinations had been selected by midday Wednesday in what some had been saying was the biggest lottery jackpot in the world. The lump sum would be $737.6 million and annual payments would be $39.6 million after federal taxes, according to the site usamega.com.
Estimated jackpot amounts, which are released daily, have been steadily rising since November 4, when the jackpot was reset at $40 million.
The North Carolina Lottery said two tickets sold in the state won the Powerball Match 5 with the Power Play.
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Part of the reason the Powerball has grown so rapidly is the astronomical odds of any individual winning. Other state lotteries have not reacted yet to the Powerball drawing.
