After 40 drawings without a big Powerball winner, a single ticket sold in California matched all six numbers and was the lucky winner of a nearly $700m jackpot, officials said.
The winning numbers drawn on Monday night were 12, 22, 54, 66 and 69. The Powerball was 15. The $699.8m was the seventh largest in US lottery history. No one had won the game’s grand prize since 5 June.
According to the California Lottery, the winning ticket was sold at a grocery store in Morro Bay, along the central coast. The winner will be able to choose between the annuity option paid over 29 years or the cash option of $496m. Both prize options are subject to taxes.
Lottery officials will not know the identity of the holder of the winning ticket until a claim form is filed, the California Lottery said.
There were five $1m winning tickets sold; two in Massachusetts and one each in Virginia, Florida and Arizona.
The 41st drawing set a record, topping the previous mark of 36 drawings that ended in January 2021. The longer the game goes without a grand prize winner, the larger the payout grows.
The jackpot drought was by design, as the game’s long odds of 292.2m to one are intended to generate massive prizes that draw more players.
Lottery officials have noted that despite the long wait for a winning jackpot ticket, plenty of people have won smaller prizes, including 2.8 million players in Saturday’s drawing alone. Those winnings ranged from $1m to $4.
Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington DC, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.