California player wins $2.4b Powerball jackpot, second largest in history

A single-ticket holder from California was the sole winner of an estimated US$1.77 billion (S$2.4 billion) Powerball drawing on Wednesday (Oct 11) night, in the second-largest lottery jackpot in history, the lottery game's website said early Thursday.

The ticket holder, whose identity was not disclosed, has the choice of having the estimated jackpot paid out over 30 years, or receiving an estimated US$774.1 million lump-sum payment, Powerball said in a statement early Thursday.

Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its advertised estimate of US$1.73 billion to US$1.77 billion at the time of drawing.

The drawing is the 36th since a Powerball player hit the jackpot three months ago. In July, a ticket in California matched all six numbers to win a grand prize worth US$1.08 billion.

The long-shot odds of winning are one in 292.2 million. For comparison, the odds of being struck by lightning over the next year is one in 1.22 million, according to the US National Weather Service.

Wednesday's purse falls just short of the US$2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by a single-ticket holder in California in November 2022. That set a world record, according to Powerball.

Powerball tickets, which cost US$2 each, are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. More than half of ticket proceeds remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.

Powerball drawings are held in the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

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