Winning ticket sold in California for $700M Powerball jackpot
UPDATE #2: One winning ticket was sold in California for what ended up being a nearly $700 million Powerball jackpot due to strong sales up to the deadline, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.
It was sold at a grocery store in the coastal California city of Morro Bay. The estimated prize total of $699.8 million is if the winner takes an annuity. If taken as a cash lump sum, the prize is $496 million.
Tickets winning $1 million were sold in Arizona, Florida, Virginia and Massachusetts, with two sold in the latter state, lottery officials said.
Also, a ticket sold in Tennessee matched the five white balls and included the Power Play feature, doubling the prize to $2 million, according to lottery officials.
UPDATE: The Powerball numbers are officially in the books for Monday night's lottery jackpot drawing worth an estimated $697 million, with a cash option of $485.5 million.
The winning numbers for Monday night's drawing were 12, 22, 54, 66, 69, and the Powerball is 15. The Power Play was 2.
The last time someone in Texas won was in 2019, and in El Paso it was 2006. The El Paso winner won a $94 million prize.
If you win, you have 180 days to claim your prize - and in the state of Texas, you can claim the jackpot anonymously.
ORIGINAL REPORT: EL PASO, Texas — After 40 drawings without a big Powerball winner, maybe the 41st attempt will be different.
Thanks to nearly four months of futility, Monday night's Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $685 million, making it the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history.
No one has won the game’s grand prize since June 5. The jackpot drought is by design, as the game’s long odds of 292.2 million to one are intended to generate massive prizes that draw more players.
The $685 million promoted prize is for a winner who chooses the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Nearly all big winners take the cash option, which for Monday night’s drawing is an estimated $485.5 million.
Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The state with the most winners is Indiana, with a total of 39 lucky residents.
The most frequently picked numbers are 61, 32, 23, 21, and 53 according to powerball.net. The least frequently played numbers are 34, 24, 46, 35, and 51. For the Powerball itself, the most often selected numbers are 24, 18, 21, 4, and 5. And your best bet for the multiplier is 2x, powerball.net indicates.
(The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.)
