California state sold Powerball ticket worth $700m

After 40 tense drawings without a big PowerBall jackpot winner, a single ticket which was sold in California matched ALL 6 numbers and was the lucky winner of an incredible almost $700m jackpot, officials said.

The winning numbers which were drawn last Monday night were 12, 22, 54, 66 and 69. The Powerball was 15. The $699.8m was the 7th largest in US lottery history to be won. No one had won the game’s grand prize since the 5th  June. According to the California Lottery, the winning ticket was sold at a store in Morro Bay, which is along the central coast. The lucky winner will be able to choose between the annual option paid over 29 years or the ultimate cash option of $496m. Both prize options will be subject to taxes.

Lottery officials will not know the identity of the jackpot holder of the winning amount until a claim form is filed, the California Lottery said,.

There were also 5 $1m tickets sold; 2 in Massachusetts and 1 each in Virginia, Florida and Arizona.

The 41st drawing set a record, topping the previous mark of 36 drawings that ended in January 2021. The longer the game goes without a grand prize winner, the larger the payout grows and grows.

The jackpot dry spell was by design, as the game’s long odds of an impressive 292.2m to 1 are intended to generate massive prizes that draw more players for the ultimate jackpot.

Lottery officials have noted that despite the long wait for a winning jackpot ticket, plenty of people have won smaller prizes, including 2.8M players in Saturday’s drawing alone. Those winnings ranged from $1m to $4m.

Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington DC, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

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