(WJW) — A single Powerball player who purchased a ticket in Georgia matched all six numbers from Wednesday night’s drawing, winning the staggering jackpot of $478.2 million.
Wednesday’s win marks the second-highest Powerball jackpot of 2024, behind the $842.2 million jackpot awarded to the winner of the New Year’s Day drawing.
The winning numbers from the Oct. 23 drawing — 2, 15, 27, 29, 39, and the red Powerball 20 — produced two other notable winners: One ticket each in Pennsylvania and Texas matched all five white balls to earn $1 million prizes.
The grand prize winner, meanwhile, will now have the option of taking the annuitized prize payout — $478.2 million to be paid out in increments over 30 years — or the lump-sum cash option, which is valued at $230.6 million, according to Powerball officials.
“Both prize options are before taxes,” Powerball.com noted in a press release.
Financial advisers say winners may also want to think twice before collecting the cash option. Winners of giant jackpots nearly always take the cash, and financial advisers say that could be a mistake.
Powerball is one of the most popular lottery games in the U.S. and is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The overall odds of winning any prize while playing Powerball is 1 in 24.9, but the odds of landing the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
