Really Good News for 1st Powerball Winner of 2019

A single ticket sold in Wisconsin matched all six numbers in the Wednesday night Powerball drawing to win the third-largest jackpot in US lottery history. Due to strong ticket sales, the jackpot climbed to an estimated $768.4 million at the time of the drawing. Powerball said the winning numbers are 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and the Powerball number is 12, the AP reports. The $768.4 million is the third-largest jackpot behind the world record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot shared by winners in California, Florida, and Tennessee in January 2016, and the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in South Carolina last October.

"It's going to be a very green spring for our first Powerball jackpot winner of 2019," Powerball Product Group chairman David Barden said in a statement. The $768.4 million estimated figure refers to the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt for the cash prize, which for Wednesday's drawing would be an estimated $477 million. Both prize options are before taxes. Seven tickets matched all five white balls but missed matching the red Powerball to win a $1 million prize. Two other tickets matched all five white balls and doubled the prize to $2 million because the tickets included the Power Play option for an additional $1.

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