The winning lottery ticket for the $473.1million Powerball jackpot was sold in Arizona, lottery officials said.
Just a single ticket claimed the massive prize, which has a cash value of $271.9million, after matching all six numbers during Wednesday night’s drawing. The winning numbers in the drawing were 11, 36, 61, 62 and 68. The Powerball number was 4.
Lottery officials said that strong sales caused the jackpot to climb past the estimated $454million that was announced after Monday evening’s drawing had no winner.
The lucky ticket was purchased at a QuikTrip convenience store in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, according to John Gilliland of the Arizona Lottery.
The winner can either accept an estimated annuity of $473.1million, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a lump sum payment of $283.3million. Both values are before federal and state taxes.
No one has come forward yet to claim the prize, according to Gilliland. The person has 180 days to claim the jackpot prize.
‘Many winners take a few days to get their affairs in order before claiming a prize this big,’ Gilliland said. ‘Arizona allows winners of $100,000 or more to claim permanent anonymity, so we may never be able to announce the name of the winner.’
Arizona Lottery Executive Director Gregg Edgar said the single ticket Powerball winner was the biggest to ever be sold in the state.
‘We are excited to celebrate this huge $473.1million Powerball jackpot win for one very lucky Arizonan,’ Edgar said in a statement. ‘It also means millions of dollars to our state’s economy, to this winner’s community, and to the vital programs and services funded by Arizona Lottery ticket sales.’
Powerball officials are urging people to check their tickets.
More than 1.4 million tickets won cash prizes during this past Wednesday’s drawing. A separate ticket purchased in Indiana matched all five white balls to win $1million, officials said.
This is the third time a Powerball jackpot has been won this year. In January, two tickets sold in California and Wisconsin split a grand prize of $632.6million, which was the seventh largest jackpot ever. In February, a ticket sold in Connecticut won $185.3million.
The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are 1 in 292.2million.
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