Who Won $559.7 Million Powerball Jackpot? Who’s That Lucky?
Powerball had an amazing start of the year with a rollover jackpot reaching a massive 559.7 million dollars. The massive sum, one of the biggest in the history of the game, fell in the January 6 drawing. Now, the entire world is interested in one question – who won the $559.7 million Powerball jackpot? Let’s put our detective hats on and do some investigative work.
The Official $559.7 Million Powerball Jackpot Announcement
Powerball released an official statement immediately after the drawing, stating that only one ticket matched all the winning ones. The ticket was bought in New Hampshire. The announcement has come solely a day after a lucky person in Florida claimed a 450-million-dollar Mega Millions jackpot. Fun fact, but we’re digressing here!
A small convenience store sold the winning ticket in New Hampshire. Reeds Ferry Market owner Sam Safa said that ever since the news was released, dozens of people stopped by the store to offer congratulations and eventually find out more about the winner.
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ABC News quoted Safa as saying that he didn’t have a clue about the identity of the jackpot winner. The store owner had just one thing to tell the media – he was hoping that the newest US millionaire was one of his regular customers.
The anonymous New Hampshire individual isn’t the only one who has gotten lucky.
Since his store sold the winning ticket, Safa will be entitled to a 75,000-dollar commission.
As of January 7, 2018, the winner hadn’t stepped forward to announce their identity.
The New Hampshire’s new millionaire will have to decide whether to claim the jackpot as a lump sum or opt for annuity payments. The second option will result in the provision of equal shares of the jackpot over a 30-year period. One thing is certain, however, most Powerball millionaires choose the lump sum payment. In this case, the winner will walk out 358.5 million dollars richer.
How Did the Winner Make It Happen?
Well, that’s a silly question – they got all of the winning numbers right.
The numbers for the lucky January 6 drawing were 12, 29, 30, 33, and 61 and the Powerball was 26 with a Power Play of three.
This is the second time in one and a half years that somebody from New Hampshire has claimed the Powerball jackpot. The previous accomplishment occurred on July 30, 2016. A player who decided to remain anonymous claimed a prize of 487 million dollars. The winning ticket was sold in a Raymond supermarket. In total, there have been 11 jackpot winners from New Hampshire in the history of Powerball.
The $559.7 million Powerball jackpot is the sixth largest in the history of the game.
Before the drawing, the sum was estimated at 570 million dollars. New Hampshire Lottery spokesperson Maura McCann said that this announced number was only a prediction. The actual amount of the jackpot became clear shortly before the drawing itself.
The respective drawing wasn’t just lucky for the New Hampshire unknown person that claimed the jackpot. There were over four million prizes handed out to different players across the US. Seven players got the correct numbers to become one million dollars richer.
The Biggest Powerball Jackpots and Their Winners
The $559.7 million Powerball jackpot is the sixth largest in the history of the lottery.
Obviously, Powerball made headlines at the beginning of 2016 when the jackpot had reached the humongous amount of 1.6 billion dollars. The sum fell on January 13, 2016. To date, this is the biggest jackpot in the history of Powerball and the history of US lotteries.
This massive sum was split between three lucky winners – Marvin and Mae Acosta, John and Lisa Robinson, and Maureen Smith. The two families and Maureen claimed a 5228.8-million-dollar share each. All three opted for a lump sum payment, bringing the cash prize down to 327.8 million dollars after taxes.
The second biggest Powerball jackpot was 758.7 million dollars. This massive sum was claimed by a single ticket holder on August 23, 2017. Mavis Wanczyk is the holder of the biggest jackpot won by a single person in the US. This amazing accomplishment enabled the 53-year-old to retire early.
Finally, on March 30, 2012, the Powerball drawing led to the winning of the third biggest jackpot in the history of the game. Three winners split 656 million dollars among themselves. The first winner was a retired couple from Illinois. The second winner was a group of Maryland friends who played in a syndicate. There’s no information about the third winner from Kansas – a state that allows its lottery winners to remain anonymous.
Powerball currently ranks as one of the biggest lotteries in the US alongside Mega Millions. The odds of claiming the top prize are the incomprehensible 1 in 292.2 million. While this may seem like an impossible accomplishment for many, the top jackpot winners stand as evidence that it’s possible to beat the odds.
Both Powerball and Mega Millions changed their rules (the Powerball rule change occurred in 2015). As a result, both of these lotteries have become more difficult to win. While this is certainly not a fun thing for players, the size of the jackpots has also increased exponentially since the introduction of the new rules. As you’ve probably seen from the examples mentioned above, most of the biggest jackpots in the history of Powerball have been claimed after 2015.
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