A lucky person won the largest lottery prize in California’s history, a $2.04 billion Powerball lottery. On Tuesday, November 8th, 2022, the United States lottery’s official site confirmed that a ticket holder in California had managed to match the winning numbers. This was several hours after an early drawing on Tuesday that delays had marred.
The announcement ended a frantic flurry across the U.S.A. as the residents of states that don’t participate in the Powerball jackpot traveled into states that do to purchase tickets. Officials have not disclosed the name of the biggest lottery winner ever in California. The award was almost $400 million larger than the previous record jackpot. Officials revealed that the winner bought the ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California, located about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of Pasadena.
Joe Chahayed, the business owner who sold the winning ticket, will receive a bonus prize of $1 million from Powerball. Four previous Powerball jackpots had surpassed $1 billion. None came close to the recent award. It began at $20 million on August 6, 2022, and has returned to $20 million for the next drawing on Wednesday.
The winner can receive the entire prize that, can be paid through an annuity over 29 years, or opt for a lump sum that can be paid immediately. Many winners choose the lump sum. It was $997.6 million for Tuesday’s jackpot.
The government requires the jackpot winner to pay federal taxes, reducing the payout to over one-third. Most states also tax lottery winnings. A person won the last Powerball prize on August 3 in Pensylvannia. Since then, there have been 40 drawings but no winner.
To win the top prize, players are required to purchase a $2 ticket and match all five white balls and one red Powerball. It takes work to do so. The chances of matching the balls are 1 in 292 million. Therefore, it is not unusual that no one will win the prize until the growing jackpot attracts a significant number of players.
Millions of Americans purchased tickets as the jackpot rose over several draws in October. Powerball is played in 45 states, Puerto Rico, Washington DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The California Lottery reports that all 48 participating lotteries must meet security requirements before a drawing can happen.
