JULY 21, 2023:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game.
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24.
The winner can choose either the total jackpot paid out in yearly increments or a $558.1 million lump sum before taxes. Winners don’t have to come forward publicly but their names and the disposition of the money are public records, according to the California Lottery.
The winning ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market, which will receive a $1 million bonus from the lottery. The owner of the store is Maria Leticia Menjivar, lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker said.
Lottery officials presented a giant symbolic check to the owner and her family, including her husband Navor Herrera, the manager, and hung signs saying “billionaire made here.”
Asked about the store’s million-dollar windfall, Herrera set his sights on the future.
“I have to make more bigger store, more items, good service for the people. That’s my thing now,” he said.
“The store is small” but the luck there is “big,” Herrera joked.
Located in the city’s Fashion District, the narrow minimarket is a few blocks from Skid Row’s scenes of homelessness and distress where thousands of people live in makeshift shanties that line entire blocks of the neighborhood.
The 107-block district is both a center of the West Coast apparel industry as well as a low-income area where small stores offer clothing, accessories and fabrics that spill onto sidewalks. Bargain-seekers flock to the district, but many storefronts are shuttered.
The winner must come forward to the California Lottery to claim the prize — and should consider hiring financial and legal advisers, spokesperson Carolyn Becker told reporters.
“And then we have to spend time vetting the winner to make sure it is the right person,” Becker said. “Integrity and transparency are incredibly important to us, so we will probably not know for months and months.”
A crush of reporters descended on the narrow minimarket, creating an early morning stir.
Lucy Jamil, who works nearby, came to the market after hearing the jackpot news.
“I’m very excited — very, very excited,” said Jamil, an employee at a store selling items such as backpacks, strollers and makeup boxes. “This morning when I woke up I was praying to God, you know, God willing it’s gonna be somebody who works over here.”
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1 billion to $1.08 billion at the time of the drawing, moving it from the seventh largest to the sixth largest U.S lottery jackpot ever won.
The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players.
The largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion in November, also in California, making Thursday the second time in less than a year that someone in Los Angeles County has become a Powerball billionaire.
The last time anyone won the Powerball jackpot was on April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
JULY 20, 2023:
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game.
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s (July 19, 2023) drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24. The California Lottery said on Twitter that the winning ticket was sold in Los Angeles at Las Palmitas Mini Market.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier estimate of $1 billion to $1.08 billion at the time of the drawing, moving it from the seventh largest to the sixth largest U.S lottery jackpot ever won.
The winner can choose either the total jackpot paid out in yearly increments or a $558.1 million, one-time lump sum before taxes.
The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players. The largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion Powerball in November.
The last time someone had won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one had won the grand prize.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
JULY 19, 2023:
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $720 million after no winning ticket was sold — again. No ticket for Tuesday’s (July 18, 2023) drawing matched the white balls 19, 22, 31, 37, 54 and the gold Mega Ball 18. The estimated jackpot for the next drawing on Friday would be the fifth highest in Mega Millions history. The estimated $720 million jackpot in the next drawing would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Friday night’s drawing is an estimated $369.6 million.
JULY 18, 2023, UPDATE:
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The new jackpot for Wednesday’s (July 20, 2023) drawing would be the seventh highest in U.S. history and the third largest for Powerball. If a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Powerball number drawn, they have the option of taking the $1 billion prize in yearly increments paid out over 29 years or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes. The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 38 consecutive drawings. The jackpot will keep growing until someone wins.
JULY 18, 2023:
ST. JOSEPH. Mo. (AP) — The Powerball jackpot rose yet again to an estimated $1 billion after no winning ticket was sold for the latest drawing. No ticket for Monday’s (July 17, 2023) drawing matched the white balls 5, 8, 9, 17, 41 and red Powerball 21. The estimated jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing would be the third highest in U.S. history. Ticket buyers have a chance at either $1 billion paid out in yearly increments or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes. The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 38 consecutive drawings.
JULY 17, 2023:
ST. JOSEPH. Mo. (AP) — The Powerball jackpot was an estimated $900 million heading into Monday night’s (July 17, 2023) drawing — the third biggest Powerball jackpot on record and the seventh largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. Debbie Kempf is store director at Cosentino’s Price Chopper in St. Joseph, Missouri. She says the store sees an increase in sales as the jackpot gets bigger and the hype increases. The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 37 consecutive drawings. The largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion in November.
JULY 15, 2023:
UNDATED (AP)-The Mega Millions top prize has grown again to an estimated $640 million after there was no winner of the lottery’s latest giant jackpot.
JULY 12, 2023:
Yesterday’s (July 11, 2023) Mega Millions lottery drawing resulted in South Dakota’s latest million-dollar winner.
The $1 million winning ticket was purchased at a Lewis Drug (4409 E. 26th Street) store in Sioux Falls.
The winning ticket matched 5 of 5 winning numbers and was just the Mega Ball away from the jackpot. The winning numbers were 10, 17, 33, 51 and 64, while the Mega Ball was 5.
The South Dakota Lottery recommends the winner sign the back of his or her ticket immediately. The prize may be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery validation center. The Lottery’s Sioux Falls office is located at 3605 S. Western Ave. The Lottery also has validation centers in Pierre and Rapid City.
While South Dakota was home to a $1 million winner, the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots continue to climb. Tonight’s Powerball jackpot is currently $725 million, and Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is currently $560 million.
While large jackpots create a lot of excitement, the Lottery reminds its players to play responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win.
Mega Millions drawings are conducted every Tuesday and Friday night. For more information on Mega Millions, visit https://lottery.sd.gov/game/
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