The Powerball jackpot was won in California last night! One lucky ticket matched all six numbers in the October 29th drawing to win the massive $2.04 billion grand prize. This marks the first time the Powerball jackpot has been won in California since 2013.
What were the winning Powerball numbers last night?
The winning numbers from the Saturday, October 29th drawing were 10, 33, 41, 47, 56, and the Powerball was 10. The one jackpot-winning ticket matched all six numbers to win the $2.04 billion grand prize.
How much was the Powerball jackpot last night?
The Powerball jackpot had rolled over 39 times without a winner, allowing the jackpot to grow to the staggering amount of $2.04 billion for the October 29th drawing. This makes it the largest lottery jackpot ever won in the United States.
Where in California was the winning ticket sold?
California lottery officials have announced that the sole jackpot-winning ticket was sold at a gas station in Altadena. The ticket was purchased at Joe’s Service Center on Woodbury Road in Altadena, a community northeast of Los Angeles.
Who won the Powerball jackpot last night?
The winner of the massive $2.04 billion jackpot has not yet come forward to claim their prize. Lottery winners in California have up to a year from the date of the drawing to come forward. The claimant can choose to remain anonymous under California law.
What was the cash value option?
The winner of the $2.04 billion jackpot can choose between taking the full jackpot amount as an annuity paid out over 29 years, or a one-time cash payment. The cash value option for this jackpot was estimated at $997.6 million before taxes.
What are the odds of winning Powerball?
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are incredibly slim – only 1 in 292.2 million. To put that into perspective, you are about 300 times more likely to get struck by lightning. Here are the overall odds for each prize:
| Prize | Odds |
|---|---|
| Jackpot | 1 in 292,201,338 |
| $1 million (match 5 + PB) | 1 in 11,688,053.52 |
| $50,000 (match 4 + PB) | 1 in 913,129.18 |
| $100 (match 3 + PB) | 1 in 36,525.17 |
| $100 (match 4) | 1 in 38,792.11 |
| $7 (match 3) | 1 in 579.76 |
| $4 (match 2 + PB) | 1 in 701.33 |
As you can see, the odds are stacked astronomically against winning the jackpot. That makes last night’s winner extremely lucky!
When was the last time someone won the Powerball jackpot?
Before last night’s win, the last time someone hit the Powerball jackpot was back on August 3rd, 2022. That jackpot in the August 3rd drawing was worth $206.9 million and was won with a ticket purchased in Pennsylvania.
Prior to the August 3rd win, the last jackpot winner was on June 29th, 2022. That winning ticket was sold in Vermont and was worth $366.7 million.
What does the winner need to do now?
The holder of the winning Powerball ticket should sign the back of it immediately and keep it somewhere very safe. Winners are advised to get financial and legal advice before claiming their prize.
To collect the prize, the winner will need to contact the California Lottery and complete a claim form. This needs to be done within one year from the date of the drawing in order to receive the jackpot.
What happens if no one claims the prize?
If the California winner does not come forward within the required timeframe, the prize money will be returned to the 44 participating lotteries in proportion to the percentage of sales that came from each state. So the funds would be distributed back to the different lottery jurisdictions.
How many jackpot-winning tickets were sold?
There was just one jackpot-winning ticket sold for the October 29th Powerball drawing. The winning ticket matched all 6 numbers drawn to win the entire $2.04 billion grand prize. Only winning tickets sold in California are eligible to claim this jackpot prize.
Will there be any other winners?
Yes, there are additional prize winners in nine other divisions besides the jackpot. Millions of players won prizes totaling over $40 million across all tiers last night. Lower tier prizes can be claimed in any participating state, regardless of where the ticket was purchased.
Where does the Powerball jackpot go from here?
Following the jackpot win, the Powerball resets to its starting point of $20 million for the next drawing on Monday night. The jackpot will once again begin rolling over each drawing until there is another winner.
Powerball is played in 45 states plus the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Tickets cost $2 each and drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
How high can the Powerball jackpot grow?
There is no cap on how large the Powerball jackpot can grow. It continues increasing by millions each drawing when there is no jackpot winner. Prior to this win, the record jackpot was $1.586 billion back in 2016. Powerball set and broke that record again with this $2.04 billion jackpot!
How does the Powerball jackpot grow so large?
The jackpot grows to such enormous amounts because the odds of winning are so high. When no one matches all 6 numbers, the jackpot rolls over increasing the pot for the next drawing. This creates huge jackpots after many weeks without a winner.
Where does the money come from for the jackpot?
The jackpot prize pool comes from the money collected from the purchase of Powerball tickets. 50% of sales is allocated to the jackpot pool. Another portion funds the lower tier prizes. A portion goes towards operating expenses and the rest is profit for the participating lotteries.
What happens if there are multiple winners?
If there are multiple jackpot winners for the same drawing, the prize would be divided equally among all the winners. For a jackpot of this size, it would most likely get split if winners were in multiple states.
Have there been shared jackpots before?
Yes, there have been several instances of previous jackpots getting split among multiple winning tickets. Some notable shared jackpots were:
- $687.8 million on October 27, 2018 won by 2 tickets
- $564.1 million on February 11, 2015 won by 3 tickets
- $336.4 million on August 8, 2012 won by 3 tickets
- $241.5 million on December 25, 2002 won by 3 tickets
Any amount of winners will share the jackpot evenly, but it is far more common for there to be one sole jackpot winner in a drawing.
What are the biggest Powerball jackpots ever?
Here are the top 10 largest Powerball jackpots to date:
- $2.04 billion – October 29, 2022
- $1.586 billion – January 13, 2016
- $768.4 million – March 27, 2019
- $758.7 million – August 23, 2017
- $731.1 million – January 20, 2021
- $699.8 million – October 4, 2021
- $687.8 million – October 27, 2018
- $590.5 million – May 18, 2013
- $587.5 million – November 28, 2012
- $564.1 million – February 11, 2015
As you can see, this record $2.04 billion jackpot from last night’s drawing is by far the biggest Powerball prize ever! It continues Powerball’s trend of setting new lottery jackpot records.
How many Powerball jackpot winners have there been?
In total over the last 30 years, there have been over 775 Powerball jackpot winners. On average, there are between 5-10 jackpot winners per year. Winning the jackpot still remains quite rare.
What states have had the most jackpot winners?
Indiana has had the most Powerball jackpot winners over the years with 39 lucky winners claiming a grand prize. The states with the next highest counts of winners are:
- Missouri – 31
- Minnesota – 22
- Wisconsin – 21
- Arizona – 20
- Kentucky – 19
In general, states that sell more Powerball tickets have more winners. But jackpot wins can happen anywhere at any time!
Conclusion
Winning the Powerball jackpot is a dream come true for any lottery player. The $2.04 billion jackpot from Saturday’s drawing is truly life-changing. While the odds are incredibly slim, someone in California defied them to become the largest single lottery winner ever. Powerball history was made last night, and now it will exciting to see where the jackpot climbs to next!
