Biggest-ever Powerball lottery jackpot
January 14, 2016
At least three people - in the states of California, Florida and Tennessee - won the Powerball jackpot, Powerball USA said in a message on Twitter.
The winning numbers in the Powerball were, 4, 8, 19, 27, 34 and Powerball 10. The identities of the winners were not yet official, but this ticket buyer posted his picture on Twitter.
The nearly $1.6-billion jackpot, the largest lottery prize of all time, is more than double the previous US jackpot record of $656 million. The amount swelled to that sum after there were no winners for several weeks.
The champions will have to pay 39.6 percent of the amount in taxes to the federal government, in addition to state taxes. If the winners choose an immediate cash payout instead of annual payments over 29 years, they will have to share $930 million.
Powerball fever gripped people in the US and thousands lined up to buy the two-dollar tickets at newsstands, petrol stations and convenience stores located in the 44 states that participated in the lottery. Many eager players even crossed over to other states to buy tickets.
Powerball drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday night. Five white balls are drawn out of a drum with 69 balls, and a red ball is drawn from a drum with 26 red balls.
A winning ticket has numbers matching all the white balls in any order and the red Powerball. Winners face the odds of 292 million to one, about the same as the odds of being hit by an asteroid, experts say.
mg/rc (AP, dpa, Reuters)