Winning $768M Powerball ticket sold at Speedway in New Berlin
NEW BERLIN, Wis. (AP/CBS 58) — Wisconsin Lottery officials say the winner or winners of the nation's third-largest lottery jackpot have not yet come forward.
The winning ticket in Wednesday's $768 million Powerball ticket was sold March 27 at the Speedway on Beloit Road near Moorland Road in New Berlin. Speedway will get a $100,000 payout for selling the winning ticket.
The winning ticket sold right here at this Speedway on Beloit in New Berlin! @CBS58 pic.twitter.com/xQ92g0mhyv
— Tori Bokios (@toribokios) March 28, 2019
State law gives the ticket holder 180 days to step forward. By law, the winner or winners must be publicly identified.
Lottery officials say this is the first Powerball jackpot win for New Berlin.
The jackpot was the second-highest in Powerball history and the third highest in U.S. history.
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9:30 a.m.
The Wisconsin Lottery has scheduled a news conference to talk about the $768 million Powerball ticket sold in suburban Milwaukee.
Lottery officials did not say if the winner or winners would be present at the 11 a.m. news conference Thursday. Under state law, the winner or winners can't remain anonymous but have 180 days to claim the winnings.
The jackpot is the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history. The win is Wisconsin's 17th Powerball jackpot since 1988.
The winning ticket was sold in New Berlin, a city about 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) southwest of Milwaukee. The retailer that sold the ticket has not been identified but will receive a $100,000 payout.
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8:40 a.m.
The Wisconsin winner of a $768 million Powerball jackpot won't be able to remain anonymous.
The winning ticket in Wednesday night's drawing was sold in the Milwaukee suburb of New Berlin. The jackpot is the third-largest pot in U.S. lottery history.
Wisconsin requires winners to be publicly identified, meaning whoever purchased the winning ticket can't remain anonymous. The winner or winners have 180 days to claim the prize.
State law also requires the Wisconsin Lottery to issue a prize to one player. If multiple people have pooled their money to purchase tickets, they can get a court order to tell the lottery how to divide the winnings.
The jackpot cash option is worth an estimated $477 million.
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6:50 a.m.
The Wisconsin Lottery says a single ticket that matched all six Powerball numbers to win the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history was sold in a Milwaukee suburb.
The ticket worth an estimated $768.4 million, or a cash option of $477 million, was sold in New Berlin. The city of about 40,000 people is roughly 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) southwest of Milwaukee.
Lottery officials didn't immediately identify the retailer that sold the ticket for Wednesday night's drawing. The retailer will receive a $100,000 payout for selling the winning ticket.
The win comes almost exactly two years after Wisconsin hit its last Powerball jackpot, when a Milwaukee resident won $156.2 million on March 22, 2017.
The winning numbers are 16, 20, 37, 44 and 62. The Powerball number is 12. Powerball lists the odds for winning the grand prize as 1 in 292,201,338.
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2:30 a.m. on March 28, 2019
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A single ticket sold in Wisconsin matched all six numbers in the Wednesday night Powerball drawing to win the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. Due to strong ticket sales, the jackpot climbed to an estimated $768.4 million at the time of the drawing with a cash option of $477 million.
Powerball said the winning numbers are 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and the Powerball number is 12.
The $768.4 million is the third-largest behind the world record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016, and the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in South Carolina last October.
“It’s going to be a very green spring for our first Powerball jackpot winner of 2019,” David Barden, Powerball Product Group chairman and New Mexico Lottery CEO, said in a statement. “A jackpot of this size can make many dreams come true - not just for the winner, but for all Lottery beneficiaries and the lucky state of Wisconsin.”
Although the prize has grown steadily since the last jackpot winner on Dec. 26, the odds of matching the five white balls and single Powerball remain one in 292.2 million.
The $768.4 million estimated figure refers to the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt for the cash prize, which for Wednesday’s drawing would be an estimated $477 million. Both prize options are before taxes.
Seven tickets matched all five white balls, but missed matching the red Powerball in Wednesday’s drawing to win a $1 million prize. Those tickets were sold in Arizona, two in California, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey and New York. Two other tickets, sold in Kansas and Minnesota, matched all five white balls and doubled the prize to $2 million, because the tickets included the Power Play option for an additional $1.
Powerball is played in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C., the U.S Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
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The winning numbers drawn Wednesday for the $768.4 million Powerball jackpot are 16, 20, 37, 44 and 62 and Powerball is 12.
The winnings can be paid out in annuities or there is a one-time cash payout of $465.5 million.
Wednesday's drawing is the third-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, Powerball said.
Powerball winning numbers:
- 16, 20, 37, 44 and 62
- Powerball: 12
How late can you play Powerball?
Sales cut off at least 59 minutes before the drawing, according to the Multi-State Lottery Commission. But cut-off times can be earlier depending on the state, so it's best to check your state's lottery commission.
Odds of winning
The odds of winning a jackpot remain abysmal at 1 in 302 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball. You are 25,000 times more likely to hit a hole-in-one than you are of winning a Powerball jackpot.
Who buys lotto tickets?
About two-thirds of Americans gamble. Last year, they spent $72.97 billion on traditional lottery tickets, according to Gallup.
On average, that's $206.69 per person. "Our obsession with lotteries, with gambling, is that unicorn feeling of, like, 'maybe it'll be me,'" CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger said. She points out that some people don't necessarily play to win.
"They just want to take a moment out of their day to consider how to dream big," Schlesinger said.
The average American spends about $223 per year on lottery tickets, according to a survey from LENDedu. Massachusetts residents have the biggest taste for playing the odds, spending almost $763 per year on lottery tickets, the study found. North Dakotans are on the opposite end of the spectrum, spending about $44 per year on the lottery, or the lowest average figure among residents of all 50 states.