20 July 2023 , 12:16
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A lucky lottery player has become a billionaire overnight after the winning Powerball ticket was sold in Los Angeles, California - with 36 other winners set to take home $1m.
The California Lottery confirmed the jackpot ticket was sold at the Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles after the winning numbers in Wednesday's draw were 7, 10, 11, 13 and 24, and the Powerball was 24. The winner has yet to be named.
According to Powerball, three tickets sold in Florida, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island won $2 million and there 36 other winners who are now millionaires.
There were Match 5 winners in California (seven), Connecticut, Florida (four), Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts (three), Maryland (two), Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey (two), New York (five), Ohio, Texas (four), Wisconsin and West Virginia.
The Powerball jackpot is now reset to $20 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.million.
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The winner has the choice between annual payments over 30 years, which increase by 5% each each, or a huge lump payment. The jackpot has a cash value of $516.8 million, before taxes.
The lucky winner has pocketed a life-changing amount (AFP via Getty Images)Drew Svitko, Powerball product group chair and Pennsylvania Lottery executive director, said: "This has turned into a historic jackpot run; this is only the third time in Powerball’s 31-year history that a jackpot has reached the billion-dollar threshold.
"It only takes one ticket to win this massive jackpot or any of Powerball’s other cash prizes. If you win the jackpot, sign your ticket, put it somewhere very safe, and reach out to your local lottery.
"During this exciting time, we would like to remind our players to play responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win this massive jackpot or any of Powerball’s other cash prizes.
"If you win the jackpot, sign your ticket, put it somewhere very safe, and reach out to your local lottery. Your lottery is always your best resource for information on how to claim a prize."
People had been waiting in line to purchase the Powerball tickets (AP)Social media users were hoping they were in receipt of the lucky ticket but admitted they couldn't imagine how the winner would be feeling.
"One winner in the Powerball! 1.07 billion dollars! Can you even imagine winning that amount of money? Congratulations to whoever it was," wrote one person.
Another added: "Someone won the Powerball tonight and I cannot fathom what they must be feeling right now."
And a third person joked: "It's always someone from California winning the damn Powerball."
A man in Altadena in California claimed the previous biggest jackpot of $2.04billion in November 2022. The only time the Powerball jackpot crossed a billion was when three tickets won $1.586 billion prize in January 2016.
Lucky lottery player becomes a billionaire overnight after massive jackpot win