Powerball has kicked off 2022 in grand fashion. Two lucky players claimed last night s jackpot, worth $632.6 million.
A Powerball billboard advertises the January 5 jackpot. Two tickets won the massive fortune. The tickets were purchased in California and Wisconsin. (Image: Florida Lottery)The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which operates Powerball, said two tickets sold in California and Wisconsin each matched all six numbers during last night s January 5 draw. The winning numbers were 6, 14, 25, 33, 46, and the Powerball number 17.
Both tickets overcame the severely long odds of 1 in 292.2 million by matching all six balls.
The is the 11th largest lottery sum won in US history. MUSL explains that each ticket is worth $316.3 million, or $225.1 million should the winner opt for the one-time cash option.
Last night offered up the seventh-largest Powerball jackpot in the game s history. Powerball began in April of 1992.
Top 10 Powerball Wins
$1.586 Billion – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN$768.4 Million – March 27, 2019 – WI$758.7 Million – Aug. 23, 2017 – MA$731.1 Million – Jan. 20, 2021 – MD$699.8 Million – Oct. 4, 2021 – CA$687.8 Million – Oct. 27, 2018 – IA, NY$632.6 Million – Jan. 5, 2022 – CA, WI$590.5 Million – May 18, 2013 – FL$587.5 Million – Nov. 28, 2012 – AZ, MO$564.1 Million – Feb. 11, 2015 – NC, PR, TXTwo Tickets, Two Different PrizesLast night s winning Powerball ticket in California was sold at a 7-Eleven in Sacramento. The winning ticket in Wisconsin was purchased by someone located in Green Bay, but Wisconsin Lottery officials didn t pinpoint where it was sold.
Assuming both winners take the , the lucky recipients will collect vastly different fortunes. Both will be hit with an effective federal tax of 37 percent, reducing their payouts from $316.3 million by $117 million to $199.3 million.
The California winner will receive that amount, as the state doesn t tax lottery winnings. The Wisconsin winner, however, will need to pay a 7.65 percent state tax on the sum, reducing the final prize to around $175.1 million.
State lottery laws in each state prohibit the winners from remaining anonymous. The Wisconsin winner has 180 days to come forward, while the California winner has up to a year.
Secondary PrizesWhile the odds are little to none of winning the Powerball jackpot, the popular lottery game has numerous lower-tier prizes that come with much better odds. Powerball says a player has an overall chance of one in 24.9 of winning a prize.
During last night s draw, 12 tickets matched all five white balls for a $1 million prize each. Two of those tickets purchased the $1 add-on Power Play option that doubled their prize to $2 million.
Seventy-seven other Powerball tickets hit four of the white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000 prizes. Thirteen of those had the Power Play option to take their prize to $100,000.
A total of 1,624,926 tickets won the minimum prize of simply matching the Powerball to win $4, or double the $2 Powerball standard ticket cost.
