The third-largest jackpot in Powerball history has a new home. And, unfortunately, it isn’t in New York.
The top prize, amounting to about $1 billion, matched numbers to a ticket sold in California. Each of the top three Powerball jackpots ever have now gone to a ticket holder in California, the last ($2.04 billion) coming in November 2022.
However, it’s not like New York Lottery players went home completely empty-handed. In fact, five tickets sold in the Empire State matched all five white numbers to claim $1 million prizes.
It’s the latest in a string of big NY lottery paydays as all attention now shifts to Mega Millions, which currently features a $720 million jackpot for the fifth-largest prize in its history.
Six $1 million Powerball winners within two days
Wednesday’s drawing was obviously much-anticipated across the country, as everyone chased one of the largest lottery draw game jackpots ever.
In the end, the numbers 7-10-11-13-24 with a Powerball of 24 ultimately matched a ticket sold in California.
Now including the latest $1 billion jackpot, the top three Powerball jackpots in history now have California ties.
- Nov. 7, 2022: $2.04 billion
- Jan. 13, 2016: $1.586 billion (split with tickets in Florida and Tennessee)
- July 19, 2023: $1 billion
Five ticket holders in New York just missed out on getting a share of the $1 billion jackpot. They matched each of the first five white balls with only the red Powerball eluding a complete six-number match.
As a result, those NY Lottery players each won the $1 million second prize. Those winners came two days after another New York Lottery ticket also fell a red Powerball shy of the jackpot. The ticket, now worth $1 million, was sold at Fairfield Food in the Bronx and just missed out on the then-$922 million top prize.
NY Lottery players now shift attention to Mega Millions
With the seven-figure Powerball jackpot now reset to $20 million, all eyes now go to the top prize in Mega Millions. Only four jackpots in the game’s history have been larger than the $720 million up for grabs in Friday’s drawing.
- $1.537 billion: October 2018, South Carolina
- $1.348 billion: January 2023, Maine
- $1.337 billion: July 2022, Illinois
- $1.05 billion: January 2022, Michigan
New York has seen just three Mega Millions jackpot winners, the last coming in 2012. A group of co-workers in New York City claimed the fourth-ever Mega Millions top prize in August 2002, a jackpot amounting to $108 million. Three months later, another group of NYC co-workers won $16 million. The most-recent NY Lottery jackpot in Mega Millions came in September 2012, a $14 million prize won by two players, including Willie McPherson from the Empire State.
On Tuesday, seven tickets across the country matched the first five numbers but missed the Mega Ball, resulting in $1 million prizes. That included a ticket sold at Mirabito in Ithaca.
