The $1.08 billion winning ticket from Wednesday’s Powerball drawing, sold at a Los Angeles convenience store, remains unclaimed—one of the game’s biggest prizes.
The winning combination comprised the numbers 7, 13, 10, 24, 11, with the Powerball number being 24. The fortunate ticket holder faces a decision between two options offered by Powerball: a $1.08 billion annuitized prize paid over 30 years in installments or a lump-sum payment of $558.1 million, both amounts being pre-tax.
The prize from Wednesday’s draw stands as the sixth-largest lottery jackpot in the United States and the third-largest Powerball jackpot. The world record for the largest Powerball jackpot remains the $2.04 billion won in California last year, followed by the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won in 2016. This information comes from the lottery officials.
The California Lottery confirmed that the ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles. As a result, the convenience store will receive almost $1 million as a reward for selling the winning ticket. The store’s owner expressed intentions to utilize this money to take his wife and four children on a vacation.
Nabor Herrera, the owner of the mini market for approximately seven years, made a surprising discovery on Thursday morning as he arrived at work. His car was surrounded by reporters, and he learned that he had sold the winning ticket.
“I had no idea. I’m just finding out now while they have me surrounded,” he said. “They wouldn’t let me park.”
Herrera revealed that three of his customers had purchased a significant number of tickets, and he expressed his wish that the winner would be one of his regular patrons. He eagerly wanted to check two tickets that he personally bought.
“Feeling blessed, thank God someone won,” he said with gratitude. “We also get a little piece of it.”
While a single ticket secured the jackpot, players are advised to check their tickets for the possibility of winning other prizes. In addition to the main jackpot winner on Wednesday, 36 tickets sold in 16 states matched all five white balls, granting them what will typically be $1 million prizes in most states, as stated in a Powerball news release. Among those, seven tickets were sold in California, where the prizes will amount to $448,750, according to California’s lottery site. It’s important to note that non-jackpot prizes in California may vary based on the number of winners and ticket sales, and therefore may differ from the fixed prizes shown on Powerball’s website.
According to Powerball’s website, the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Prior to Wednesday’s victory, there were 38 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner since the Powerball drawing on April 19. During that drawing, a ticket in Ohio matched all six numbers, securing a grand prize worth $252.6 million.
Drew Svitko, Powerball Product Group Chair and Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director, expressed congratulations to the latest Powerball jackpot winner and the California Lottery. He highlighted that for over 30 years, Powerball has united people in dreaming big and winning big, ultimately raising billions of dollars for charitable causes supported by various lotteries.
In the previous year, a single winning ticket, also sold in California, secured the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball lottery jackpot. Consequently, the gas station owner who sold the winning ticket became a millionaire himself.
In the previous year, a single winning ticket, also sold in California, secured the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball lottery jackpot. Consequently, the gas station owner who sold the winning ticket became a millionaire himself.