Millions, if not billions, are up grabs once a winning lotto ticket goes unclaimed. What to know about who gets to keep it.
One lucky Powerball winner woke up $478 million richer after hitting the jackpot in the Oct. 23 drawing.
According to the Powerball website, one ticket sold in Buford, Georgia, matched all five numbers, plus the red Powerball -- 2, 15, 27, 29, 39 and 20 -- to win the grand prize.
According to officials, the jackpot is the eighth Powerball jackpot won in 2024, with other Powerball jackpots won so far this year in Michigan, Oregon, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.
The winner of Wednesday's drawing can choose between an 29-year annuity of $478.2 million, Powerball said, or a lump sum cash payment of $230.6 million. Both prize options are before taxes, the site said.
Nationwide, more than 600,000 prize-winning Powerball tickets were sold in Wednesday's drawing, the lottery site siad, including two $1 million winners in Pennsylvania and Texas.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play, with drawings taking place live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 9:59 p.m. CT. Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9, Powerball said. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
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