Powerball $1.5 Billion Jackpot-Winning Ticket Sold in California

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s record draw are 4, 8, 19, 27, 34, with a Powerball of 10

Getty Images

Did you have the winning numbers 4, 8, 19, 27, and 34, with a Powerball of 10? If so, you’re rich.

The massive Powerball jackpot sent the country into a frenzy this week and at least one winning ticket was sold in California, while other states’ results were still pending.

“We have a winner in California! A jackpot-winning ticket was sold in Chino Hills. We’re still awaiting results from other states,” the California Lottery tweeted on Wednesday night. It later said that tickets that matched 5 of 6 numbers were sold in Nipton, Chula Vista, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Tustin, Pacoima, Vacaville, Cloverdale, Redlands, Gardena and Irwindale.

The winning ticket was purchased at the 7-Eleven at 4092 Chino Hills Parkway, according to Russ Lopez with the California Lottery. Chino Hills is a suburb of Los Angeles in the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County.

#Powerball was the top trend on Twitter following the draw, with the phrase “Someone in California” quickly sparking hilarious and jealous memes.

The jackpot had reached a mammoth $1.5 billion just hours ahead of Wednesday night’s drawing, but the odds of someone winning the whole thing were extraordinarily slim, estimated by experts to be 1 in 292.2 million.

The California winner — and any other yet-to-be-announced winning ticket buyers — will have the choice of annual payments over 29 years or to opt for a lump-sum payment of about $930 million.

Saturday’s previous Powerball drawing, which had promised a record $900 million payout, did not result in a winner, hence the rollover to Wednesday’s mega-payday.

The $1.5 billion total was twice as large as the last biggest lottery payout in the U.S. — a $656 million MegaMillions jackpot in 2012.

The jackpot dominated local and national news reports, and was even a constant topic of discussion on ESPN, in between sports coverage.

Canadians joined in on the obsession by crossing the U.S. border to buy tickets. Powerball is played in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. It is not permitted in Nevada because of gaming competition concerns, nor in Alabama, Mississippi and Utah.

See the tweet from California Lottery below.

Comments