There are at least three winning tickets in the $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot – sold in Los Angeles, Tennessee and Florida – lottery officials said.
The previous draw was the 19th without a grand prize winner, which requires all six numbers to match.
Thousands of people earlier queued up outside shops across the United States, hoping to defy the odds of 292.2 million to one.
Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told the Associated Press that one of the winning tickets was sold at a 7-Eleven store in Chino Hills, in suburban Los Angeles.
Alex Traverso had no information on where in Tennessee and Florida the other winning tickets were purchased, the AP reports.
The winners can collect their winnings in annual payments over 29 years, or opt to share a lump-sum payment of $930 million.
The government would also share in the big prize, however, levying a 39.6% federal income tax on the winners, plus any taxes that the winners’ home states may impose.
The winning numbers for the $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot at January 13 draw are 4, 8, 19, 27, 34, PB 10.
At least one winning ticket was sold, at a shop in Los Angeles, officials say.
The previous draw was the 19th without a grand prize winner, which requires all six numbers to match.
Thousands of people earlier queued up outside shops across the US, hoping to defy the odds of 292.2 million to one.
The winner – assuming no split in the prize – stands to take home the jackpot in annual payments over 29 years. He or she could also opt for one lump-sum payment of $930 million.
The government would share in the big prize, however, levying a 39.6% federal income tax on the winner, plus any taxes that the winner’s home state may impose.
After paying tax, however, the winner would still be wealthier than Beyonce and Lionel Messi, according to AFP news agency.
Six of the 50 US states do not participate in the lottery, forcing some of their residents to drive hours to buy tickets.
Alabama, Mississippi and Utah cite religious reasons while Alaska has said it would not be economical in such a sparsely populated state.
In Hawaii, proposed legislation to start it fails consistently and in Nevada the lottery is rejected because the state’s world famous casinos prefer not to have competition.
The current estimated jackpot in the multi-state Powerball lottery has now reached $1.5 billion.
That means a single winner would have the option of a lump-sum cash payout of an estimated $930 million.
“Jackpot increased because of yesterday’s strong sales,” Kelly Cripe, director of media relations at the Texas Lottery Commission, said in a statement announcing the higher estimated payoff.
Powerball is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. No players have correctly selected the six numbers required to win the jackpot in the last 19 drawings dating back to November 11.
Retailers say demand for tickets to the drawing at 10:59 p.m. ET on January 13 has been off the charts, raising the possibility that the payoff could climb even higher.
A $2 ticket has a one in 292.2 million chance of winning the grand prize, Powerball said. That compares with a one in 700,000 chance of being killed by an asteroid in a lifetime, according to astronomers at the Space Science Institute.
Powerball lottery announced the six winning numbers for the record jackpot of $949.8 million on January 9.
The winning numbers were 32-16-19-57-34 and the Powerball number 13. All six numbers must be correct to win, although the first five can be in any order.
There was no winner in Saturday’s drawing as Wednesday’s jackpot is expected to hit $1.3 billion.
Since November 4, the Powerball jackpot has grown from its $40 million starting point as no one has won the jackpot. Such a huge jackpot was just what officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the Powerball game, hoped for last fall when they changed the odds of matching all the Powerball numbers, from about one in 175 million to one in 292.2 million. By making it harder to win a jackpot, the tougher odds made the ever-larger prizes inevitable.
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