The richest Powerball jackpot ever — and the second-largest top prize
in U.S. lottery history — has been won. The question is: Who are the
lucky winners waking up to new lives as multimillionaires?
Powerball officials said early Thursday morning
that two tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri matched all six numbers
to win the record $587.5 million jackpot.
The numbers drawn Wednesday night are 5, 16, 22, 23, 29. The Powerball is 6.
It was not clear whether the winning tickets
belonged to individuals or were purchased by groups. Arizona lottery
officials said early Thursday they had no information on that state's
winner or winners but would announce where it was sold Thursday morning.
Lottery officials in Missouri did not immediately respond to phone
messages and emails seeking comment.
Americans went on a ticket-buying spree in the
run-up to Wednesday's drawing, the big money enticing many people who
rarely, if ever, play the lottery to purchase a shot at the
second-largest payout in U.S. history.
Tickets were selling at a rate of 130,000 a
minute nationwide — about six times the volume from a week ago. That
pushed the jackpot even higher, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of
the Multi-State Lottery Association.
Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neumauer said the
jackpot was estimated at $587.5 million by early Thursday, adjusted
slightly upward from the $579.9 million estimate at the time of the
drawing. The cash payout was $384.7 million.
Among those who had been hoping to win was
Lamar Fallie, a jobless Chicago man who said his six tickets conjured a
pleasant daydream: If he wins, he plans to take care of his church, make
big donations to schools and then "retire from being unemployed."
The jackpot had already rolled over 16
consecutive times without a winner, but Powerball officials said
Wednesday they believed there was a 75 percent chance the winning
combination would be drawn this time.
Some experts had predicted that if one ticket
hit the right numbers, chances were good that multiple ones would. That
happened in the Mega Millions drawing in March, when three ticket buyers
shared a $656 million jackpot, which remained the largest lottery
payout of all time. And it happened again for Wednesday's Powerball
drawing.
Yvette Gavin, who sold the tickets to Fallie,
is only an occasional lottery player herself, but she said the huge
jackpot compelled her to play this time. As for the promises she often
gets from ticket purchasers, Gavin isn't holding her breath.
"A lot of customers say if they win they will take care of me, but I will have to wait and see," she said.
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