Winning $1 billion Powerball jackpot ticket sold in California

A lottery player in the US state of California won the $1 billion Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, the state’s lottery said.

“California has a new Powerball BILLIONAIRE!” the California State Lottery announced on Twitter.

“One lucky ticket sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles was the only ticket across the country to match all 6 numbers in the July 19 Powerball draw, winning the $1 Billion Powerball jackpot,” it said.

Biggest prize

The billion-dollar jackpot is the biggest prize since November and only the third time the pot has reached the billions, The Washington Post reported.

The winner can choose to take $558.1 million in cash up front, or receive $1.08 billion, broken into yearly payments over 30 years, which increase by five percent annually, the newspaper said.

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Most winners choose the lump sum payout.

Wednesday’s winner should expect to pay a 37 percent tax rate on most of the winnings, since the US tax service considers lottery winnings as ordinary income and the jackpot puts them in the top tax bracket, according to the Post.

How to play Powerball

Powerball players choose six numbers for five white balls and one red ball, and must match all six to win the jackpot — with 1 in 292.2 million odds.

The winning numbers Wednesday were 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24.

“The Golden State luck was in full force as California also sold SEVEN additional tickets that matched 5 numbers missing just the Powerball, winning $448,750 each,” California State Lottery said.

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Other winners who matched five numbers bought their tickets in 15 other states.

In November last year, a single ticket sold in California won an eye-watering $2 billion jackpot.

The next Powerball drawing is Saturday, with the estimated jackpot dipping to $20 million, with a cash value of $10.3 million.