(Corrects by deleting “after tax” in second paragraph)
By Tim Gaynor
PHOENIX, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Winning tickets bought in
Arizona and Missouri matched numbers drawn for a record
Powerball lottery jackpot of $588 million, the Multi-State
Lottery Association said.
Holders of the two winning tickets in the Wednesday night
draw will share an estimated $385 million if they opt to take it
as a lump sum. Alternatively, the $588 million can be paid out
to them as annuities over three decades, the association said.
The drawing took place at 10:59 p.m. EST, with winning
numbers 5 16 22 23 29, and a Powerball of 6. The Association did
not say if the ticket holders had come forward yet to claim
their vast cash prizes.
Powerball spokeswomen in Arizona and Missouri did not
immediately respond to emails seeking further details on the
winners.
The popular lottery – which is played in 42 states,
Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands – had not had a
winner for two months. After no one won the top prize in
Saturday’s drawing, the pot had grown by about $263 million to
$578.5 million amid a rush to buy tickets.
The previous Powerball top prize of $365 million was won in
2006 by ConAgra slaughterhouse workers in Nebraska. The
largest-ever U.S. lottery jackpot, the $656 million Mega
Millions drawing, was shared by three winning tickets last
March.
Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, where
Powerball is based, said lottery officials had received calls
and emails from people around the world asking if they can buy a
ticket. They cannot.
There have been nearly 300 jackpot winners over the past 20
years, taking home payouts of over $11.6 billion.
(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman in Idaho, Teresa Carson in
Oregon,; Keith Coffman in Colorado,; Paul Ingram in Tucson,
Jonathan Kaminsky in Washington state, Dave Warner in
Philadelphia and Nick Carey in Illinois; Writing by Peter
Rudegeair and Tim Gaynor; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Peter
Cooney)
