Georgian wins $50K in Powerball drawing, jackpot climbs to $925M
SAN ANSELMO, CA - JANUARY 03: Powerball and Mega Millions lottery tickets are displayed on January 3, 2018 in San Anselmo, California. The Powerball jackpot and Mega Millions jackpots are both over $400 million at the same time for the first time. Th
One lucky Georgian is waking up Thursday with a $50,000 Powerball ticket in their pocket.
The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $925 million after no players hit it big Wednesday night, continuing a stretch of lottery futility that has lasted for more than two months.
The winning numbers were: 1, 7, 46, 47, 63 and red Powerball 7.
In Georgia, officials say someone matched four of the numbers and the Powerball - winning them a cool $50,000.
With no big winners, the jackpot for the next drawing on Saturday night remains the world’s ninth-largest lottery prize of all time, behind earlier prizes in the Powerball and Mega Millions games that all topped $1 billion.
The jackpot has grown so large because there have now been 30 consecutive drawings without a big winner, dating back to July 19. Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes becoming ever larger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins.
The largest jackpot was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize hit by a player in California in November 2022.
In most states, a Powerball ticket costs $2 and players can select their own numbers or leave that task to a computer.
The $925 million jackpot is for a sole winner who opts for payment through an annuity, doled out over 30 years. Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Saturday night’s drawing would be an estimated $432.4 million.
Those winnings would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.