The Oct. 11 Powerball drawing brought Southern California its third $1 billion jackpot winner in the last year.
Wednesday’s drawing was the first to declare a jackpot winner since July 19, with the top prize growing to $1.765 billion, the second-largest in history. The ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park.
July’s jackpot was also above 10 figures. A downtown Los Angeles mini-market sold the winning $1.08 billion ticket.
The record jackpot hit on Nov. 7, 2022, for $2.04 billion. A Southern Californian won it, too, purchasing the winning ticket in Altadena.
Three Californians win big
In addition to the jackpot winner, two California Lottery players and seven others nationwide became millionaires Wednesday night.
The winning numbers were 22, 24, 40, 52 and 64, and the Powerball number was 10. Seven-figure prizes came as follows.
- One $1.765 billion jackpot winner matched all five numbers and the Powerball.
- Two $2 million winners matched all five numbers and hit the 2x Power Play. These winners came from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
- Seven $1 million winners matched all five numbers. California and Florida each had two winners, and New York, Oklahoma and Virginia each had one.
Monterey Park’s Atlantic Wine and Spirits sold one of the two tickets matching all five numbers. The drawing produced over 5.3 million winning tickets nationwide, with nearly 4 million collecting $4.
Powerball costs $2 per play.
When will the winner step forward?
It’s only been two days since a winning ticket was announced, but nobody has claimed the windfall. Similarly, July’s jackpot remains unclaimed.
Winners have one year from the date of the drawing to claim prizes. Lottery officials review any substantial winnings claims to confirm their legitimacy, which can take up to two months.
Plenty of reasons exist why someone would not immediately come forward after winning a jackpot. Such life-changing money brings new concerns over security, wealth management, etc.
Or, the winning ticket might come from a group of people who pooled money together for multiple entries. The winners might need time to line up their moving parts before distributing their winnings.
Regardless of the reasons, waiting to claim prizes is a common practice. Last November’s jackpot winner took over three months to announce his win, and a lawsuit has since transpired.
