Oregon Sells a Winning $1.3 Billion Powerball Ticket.

DES MOINES, Iowa, a powerball enthusiast from Oregon strung gold by winning a staggering jackpot exceeding $1.3 billion on Sunday, marking the end of a dry spell lasting over three months. The winning ticket, which emerged after a delay of more than three hours in the drawing process, successfully matched all six numbers to clinch the jackpot, as confirmed by Powerball in a recent statement.

The jackpot, valued at $1.326 billion, offers a cash option of $621 million if the victor opts for a lump sum rather than spreading the winnings over a 30-year annuity, consisting of an immediate payout followed by 29 annual installments. However, federal taxes and state levies on lottery earnings apply to the prize.

The winning combination drawn in the early hours of Sunday comprised the numbers 22, 27, 44, 52, and 69, along with the red Powerball number 9. The fortunate ticket was sold in Portland, Oregon, as announced by the Oregon Lottery.

Mike Wells, Director of the Oregon Lottery, extended congratulations to the life-changing winner, expressing excitement for both the staff and players. The victor has a year to claim the grand prize, although Oregon law typically requires winners to disclose their identity, with rare exceptions.

Oregon’s largest prior Powerball win amounted to $340 million in 2005, while the last jackpot claimed in the state was $150.4 million by a resident of Salem in 2018. Prior to this latest draw, Powerball had seen a dry spell since New Year’s Day, resulting in 41 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, a record equaled only twice before in 2022 and 2021.

This $1.326 billion prize now stands as the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history. With increasing prize amounts, ticket sales soar, potentially leading to shared jackpots among multiple winners. The odds of securing the top prize stand at a daunting 1 in 292.2 million.

Saturday night’s scheduled drawing faced a delay, taking place in the Florida Lottery studio just before 2:30 a.m. Sunday, to ensure completion of necessary procedures by organizers. Powerball regulations mandate thorough verification of every ticket against multiple computer systems before drawing the winning numbers, ensuring fairness and integrity.

Powerball is widely played across 45 states, including Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, Powerball officials did not specify where the verification hiccup occurred, which led to the delay.

This marks the second instance of a significant delay in a Powerball drawing for a massive jackpot within the last 17 months. In November 2022, a record $2.04 billion jackpot draw was postponed by nearly 10 hours due to technical issues with the verification process, managed by external vendors, as revealed by the Minnesota Lottery.

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