One Powerball jackpot-winning ticket has been sold in Massachusetts, officials say, for the massive $758.7 million jackpot, the second-largest in U.S. history.
Powerball Product Group Chair Charlie McIntyre says the $758.7 million jackpot is the largest grand prize won by a single lottery ticket in U.S. history. The total amount is second only to a $1.6 billion prize shared by three people in January 2016.
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s Powerball lottery jackpot are 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26 with a Powerball of 4 and a Power Play of 4.
In a statement early Thursday, McIntyre also says six other tickets won $2 million apiece, and 34 more are worth $1 million.
Lottery officials on Thursday corrected the site where the single winning ticket was sold to Chicopee, Mass. Overnight, they had announced the winning ticket was sold at a shop in Watertown, just outside Boston.
But shortly before 8 a.m., the lottery said it had made a mistake, and that the winning ticket was sold at the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, about halfway across the state.
The lottery did not say how the error was made.
It said the store in Watertown did sell a ticket that won a $1 million prize.
According to the Powerball website, there were $2 million winners in Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There were $1 million winners in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
The $758.7 million jackpot is the annuity option, paid over 29 years in 30 installments that increase 5 percent annually. A winner who opts for a cash payout would get $480.5 million, minus taxes.
The advantage of taking cash is that people can invest the money with hopes of a greater return than the guaranteed payments they would receive through the annuity. The downside is they’ll pay a little more in taxes and won’t have the certainty of giant annual paychecks for decades.
Federal income taxes would take a 25 percent bite from winnings. State taxes vary, so the amount winners will pay in taxes depend on where they play. Some of the nation’s biggest states, including California and Texas, don’t assess state taxes on lottery prizes.
The odds of winning the Powerball drawing are only 1 in 292.2 million. Players have much better odds of one in 25 of winning a lesser prize.
Powerball is played in 44 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Associated Press contributed.
