There’s no need to wait any longer as the winning Powerball ticket worth an estimated $1.08bn has been sold in California.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles, just 13 miles from the convenience store where Powerball winner Edwin Castro purchased his ticket for last November’s $2.04 billion jackpot – the largest in US history, according to the Daily Mail.
Making the announcement on Twitter, the California Lottery said: “California has a new Powerball BILLIONAIRE! One lucky ticket sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles was the only ticket across the country to match all 6 numbers in the July 19 #Powerball draw, winning the $1 Billion Powerball jackpot.”
The organisation also said that an additional seven tickets matched 5 of the numbers – which means that these ticket holders will also win a prize of $448,750 each.
“The Golden State luck was in full force as California also sold SEVEN additional tickets that matched 5 numbers missing just the Powerball, winning $448,750 each, in Hayward, La Puente, Los Angeles, Northridge, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and South Lake Tahoe,” the lottery said.
So, what were the winning numbers?
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s draw were: 7,10,11,13,24 and red Powerball 24.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1bn to $1.08bn at the time of the drawing, moving it from the seventh largest to the sixth largest US lottery jackpot ever won.
The winner can choose the total jackpot paid out either in yearly increments or an amount of $558.1m before taxes.
The jackpot win back on 19 April saw a lottery player in Ohio take home a sum of $252.6m jackpot – a grand prize that no one has won since then.
The cost of a Powerball ticket is usually around $2, but you can add the Power Play for $1, which will increase the amount of your potential prize up to five times the original value.
Players can select up to five numbers from one to 69 for the white balls and one number from one to 25 for the red Powerball. The lottery machine can also make a random selection for you.
People line up to buy Powerball tickets at a 7 Eleven liquor store— (AP)
Winners can get prizes from $4 for matching Powerball to $1m for matching all five white balls to the jackpot for matching all six balls.
Nabor Herrera, who owns Las Palmitas Mini Market where Wednesday’s winning Powerball Ticket was sold, will also receive a $1 million bonus, California Lottery officials confirmed. In an interview with KTV-LA, the father of four said he didn’t realise he’d sold the winning ticket until he arrived for work early Thursday and saw cameras camped out in front of the shop. “I tell you, it’s a surprise for me, I didn’t know what it is – filming or what,” he said.
Herrera, who has owned the store for seven years, said he planned to use his $1 million seller bonus to expand his business, and take his family on a vacation to Cabo San Lucas or Cancun in Mexico.
Last November, Edwin Castro – a former public school student from California – bought his winning Powerball ticket at a gas station in Altadena in the mountains above Los Angeles. As the winner of the $2.04bn jackpot, he decided to take his prize winnings in one lump sum rather than in yearly increments, walking away with $997.6m before taxes.
According to the Powerball website, the next drawing will be on Saturday 22 July with an estimated jackpot of $20m and a cash value of $10m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
