By Todd Northrop
One Powerball lottery ticket sold in Wisconsin won the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history on Wednesday night.
The lucky numbers for the $768.4 million jackpot were 16, 20, 37, 44, and 62, with Powerball number 12. The Power Play multiplier was 3. The top prize surged from an estimated $750 million due to strong ticket sales.
The lump sum payout is $476.9 million.
The winning ticket was sold in New Berlin, a city of about 40,000 people roughly 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) southwest of Milwaukee. Lottery officials didn't immediately identify the retailer that sold the ticket for Wednesday night's drawing. The retailer will receive a $100,000 payout for selling the winning ticket.
"It's going to be a very green spring for our first Powerball jackpot winner of 2019," David Barden, Powerball Product Group chairman and New Mexico Lottery CEO, said in a statement. "A jackpot of this size can make many dreams come true — not just for the winner, but for all Lottery beneficiaries and the lucky state of Wisconsin."
The Powerball jackpot had grown since December, when a ticket sold in New York won a $298.3 million jackpot. The jackpot resets to $40 million for Saturday's drawing.
The odds of hitting Wednesday's grand prize — the largest lottery jackpot of 2019 — was 1 in about 292 million. But Powerball says 1 in every 24.87 tickets wins a prize, starting at $4.
The only jackpots larger than Wednesday's include the world record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot in January 2016 shared by winners in California, Florida, and Tennessee.
A woman from South Carolina anonymously claimed the second biggest prize of a $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot won last October. And in August 2017, a Massachusetts hospital worker's pipe dream came true when she won a $758.7 million Powerball prize.
In the Wednesday Powerball drawing, 9 lucky players came within one number of winning the jackpot, matching the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 2 from California, 1 from Indiana, 1 from Kansas, 1 from Minnesota, 1 from Missouri, 1 from New Jersey, and 1 from New York.
Two of the second-prize winners — the tickets sold in Kansas and Minnesota — purchased the Power Play option for an extra $1 per play, doubling their prize to $2 million.
The two California winners will take home an extra-sweet $2,939,782 each, as the California second-level prize pool has been building for 11 consecutive drawings without a winner. By law, California awards all prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold and the number of tickets that won at each prize level. If nobody wins the money allocated for a prize level, that money is carried over to the next drawing.
Also in the Wednesday drawing, 150 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 20 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 13 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $28,597 this drawing.
When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, a second-prize win is doubled and any other non-jackpot prize is multplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. A full chart of payout amounts can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.
Power Play is not available in California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
Powerball is played in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.
Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com). The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Wednesday's Powerball jackpot was the 3rd-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 2nd-largest Powerball jackpot ever.
- Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 - South Carolina
- Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 - Wisconsin
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 - Iowa, New York
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
- Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 - New York
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
Top 25 cash value jackpots
The Wednesday Powerball jackpot ranks as the 4th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $476.9 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $254.6 million cash, Jan. 1, 2019 ($425 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
Best Wishes to the Winner(s)!
WTG New Berlin, WI
California did better than Powerplay winners this time around!
Just found two regular purchased tickets with #12 on them, each one worth $12 added to my big loss of $36 on-line so up to $60 in winnings. Better than nothing I suppose.
What a fantastic win for some lucky person/group.
Here's to much enjoyment for many years to come
Congrats to the winner(s).
There's always next time!
The State of Wisconsin will collect its 7.65% state tax of $36,482,850 if the winner(s) take the lump sum cash value.
The IRS will collect up to 37%. That comes to $176,453,000
After taxes, the ticket holder will keep about $264 mil
The New Berlin, Wisconsin PowerBall Winner of $768.4 million won't be able to Remain Anonymous!
Isn't it funny that the draw numbers are out within 5 minutes after being drawn on mobile devices.
They were posted on USA Mega by 10:05 last night.
First time that Wisconsin has cracked the top 25 list..... Kudos to them
Those small unknown cities really win!
Actually, I posted the results live at 10:59 PM (Eastern Time) last night — both at USA Mega and at Lottery Post!
Doesn't Wisconsin always win?
Everyone wins except for me dpoly!!!!
LOL
Congratulations to the lucky winner! I hope it was a Lottery Post member.
That's not a bad amount to " keep" after paying all your taxes TMM, even if you waged $100.00. That PB was one sweet ride.
Am glad that it went over the advertised amount of $750 million; sometimes it doesn't quite get to the amount they say.
Time to go to the store and cash out my $24...
That is unusual. Sometimes everyone has to wait 15-20 minutes.
Sounds like Todd meant he manually input ball drop results on both. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Congratulations to the winner(s)! The small towns strike again!!!
According to this recent article from nj.com, that was the 17th PB win in Wisconsin.
Good fortune to the winners!
How many MM and PB Jackpot winners since the start of both games any one know ?
It's called a bit of sarcasm because of the usual whine about the same states winning .........
I was perfectly happy with my $7 last drawing!
Thanks for the info!
Y/W
Jackpot winning ticket was sold at the Speedway on Beloit Road in New Berlin.
Sully was right. A Great Lakes state!
I hope the winner/winners are very happy with their new found wealth.
Wisconsin Lottery news conference.
Why exactly would I wait before publishing the results? That would be rather strange.
.. and close to a large body of H2...0
Did l tell ya, or did l tell ya?
Great job Sully!!
The winner/s have 180 days to claim. Should the winner/s get their ducks all lined up before claiming? Can they remain in hiding until claiming? Congratulations to whoever won!!
When I lived in Ohio I'd have no problem agreeing that a Great Lake state would win the PB jackpot as would anyone living in any of the 8 great lake states that includes New York. Are the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers considered "a large body of water"?
If you have to squint to see the other side, probably. We not talking Olympic size swimming pools.
welp, looks like pops is right again. or as he put it, "Cassie don't play PB Mega it's rigged, if only 1 single person winALL that money.
Gov't is makin' a killin' back easy, by 1 single person winning, make no sense, so don't play it cassie. lol i think he's right, but i did buy 2 tickets
and 1 or 2 for mom. just odd 1 person when 100 + in MANY STATES can win at least FOUR #s with pb or mega ball, and or five numbers and still
IRS/GOV shall have PLENTY left over,
so i think dad has a point.
i do not play always this game,but good luck to those playing it, i only do it when it is a real high amount. G-night.
Congrats to the ONE winner.
"No, no no! It was NJ not WI, right?"
Hang in there people.
So... you didn't win this one. There will be other billion dollar jackpots!
.
TheMeatman2005,
I sure hope so, I'm not getting any younger.
Just one million would do it for me (realizing that taxes woud be taken out).
This drawing could have had 700+ one-million dollar winners.
So, 700+ people might have bought a decent house, and car.
Mr. Groppo
So.... Here's what I want to know....
Can the winner in WI claim through a Trust or LLC...meaning: the Name of the Trust or LLC is put on the Back of the Ticket?
I live in a non-anon state, and I am concerned about that particular rule, when it comes to claiming.
If their Identity is spread out by the Lottery (as per the rules they put down to insure that "Real People REALLY DO WIN")
then, that winner is basically a target by all the wolves and yahoos out there.
I've harped on this before.....and I know that most folks agree with me, despite saying in reply...
"Well....they should have went to an anon state to purchase that ticket!"
or
"If they didn't want to be exposed, they better not play."
or
"what's the problem? Just grin and bear it....it'll be *alriiiiiiiiiight*"
Is the WI winner basically S-O-L when it comes to protecting their identity when claiming?
Because here's what I would do in that winner's situation
Get that Lawyer from New York (I think his name is Joshua Something, or if you can't get him, get a lawyer who will work for a flat rate, and do this.
----> Form 2 trusts, (or get two aged Shelf Trusts) where one collapes into the other. and get two Shelf Corp's
-----> Trust 1 is a receiving trust (lottery-office facing) that collects the money (minus taxes) (Trustee has to be a Shelf Corp, Beneficiary has to be the Bridge Trust)
-----> Trust 2 is the bridge trust (Receiving Trust Facing) (trustee has to be 2nd shelf corp, beneficiary has to be 1st shelf corp)
and this bridge trust collapses into the 1st shelf corp.
But I'm not sure...Can a Beneficiary on the bridge trust, be trustee on the receiving trust? I don't know....
But is this thinking all for naught, and the winner is SOL when it comes to protecting their identity from the public?
Maybe in WI it is.
I have been working on a chart for all the states.
Here is what I have for Wisconsin.
Not anonymous/cannot be claimed by other entities. "The original winning ticket must be signed by a single human being. For-profit and non-profit entities, trusts, and other non-human beings are not eligible to play or claim a prize." Source: https://wilottery.com/claimprize.aspx
So trusts are not a option regardless of the counsel you hire.
Naw they’re in sync.
I haven’t decided if I will play or not. Perhaps I should. Call me daffy duck it’s mine.