Powerball: Winning tickets for $632.6M jackpot sold in California, Wisconsin

Odds you win the lottery are slim

What are the odds you win the lottery? You're more likely to be struck by lightning.

Two ticket holders in California and Wisconsin are beginning 2022 on a high note after matching all six numbers in the Powerball jackpot drawing on Jan. 5, valued at $632.6 million with a cash option of $450.2 million.

It was the seventh-largest prize in the game’s history. The lucky ticket holders will split the jackpot prize, with each ticket worth $316.3 million or $225.1 million cash. Both prize options are prior to taxes.

The winning Powerball ticket worth an estimated $316.3 Million ($225.1 Million cash) was sold in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This was the fourth major jackpot won in the past four years in reference to three Powerball jackpots and one Mega Millions won in Wisconsin since March 2019, according to a release from the Wisconsin Lottery.

Lottery officials say the winning ticket holder has 180 days to come forward and claim their prize-stating they should contact the Wisconsin Lottery prior to coming to the Lottery office.

There have been 19 Powerball jackpot wins in Wisconsin since the game started in 1992. The 19 wins are fourth on the list of most frequently winning Powerball states.

The state had a record-setting $768.4 million jackpot winner in March 2019 with the winning ticket sold in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

The winning ticket is the second largest Powerball jackpot in U.S. lottery history and fourth-largest all-time lottery jackpot. In June 2020, two Wisconsin friends split the Powerball jackpot of $22 million with a ticket purchased in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

According to the release, the Powerball jackpot was last hit on October 4, 2021, when a single ticket in California won $699.8 million. After 40 draws, this jackpot reached $632.6 million at the time of the drawing with a cash value of $450.2 million The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338.

A new batch of Powerball winning numbers was announced at 10:59 p.m. ET. To win the grand prize, a player must match the numbers on all five white balls (1 - 69) plus the red Powerball (1 - 26).

The winning numbers in the Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022 drawing were white balls 6, 14, 25, 33 and 46. The Powerball number was 17.

76495444-8a7d68cb-Powerball Jackpot Expected To Reach A Whopping Record-Breaking 1.5 Billion Dollars

A customer buys Powerball tickets at Kavanagh Liquors on January 13, 2016, in San Lorenzo, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Powerball jackpot grows until a winning ticket is sold. Winners can choose to receive their prize as an annuity, paid in 30 payments over 29 years, or take the lump sum payment. Federal and jurisdictional taxes are applicable to either payout.

Powerball drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in 45 states, Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The overall odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are just 1 in 292.2 million. To put that into perspective, those odds are a little worse than flipping a coin and getting heads 28 straight times, University of Nebraska-Omaha mathematics professor Andrew Swift previously told the Associated Press.

For those feeling lucky and wanting to spend $2 for a ticket, the overall odds of winning any prize is a little better at 1 in 24.9. In Wednesday’s drawing, more than 3 million tickets won prizes ranging from $4 to $2 million, lottery officials said.

Some top-winning tickets included twelve Match 5 tickets worth $1 million each sold in Arizona, California, Florida (3), Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York (2) and Texas. There were also two Match 5 + Power Play tickets worth $2 million each sold in Florida and Georgia.

The year 2021 brought six Powerball jackpot tickets with winners claiming a combined total of more than $2 billion, officials said. Three winners got lucky in January, followed by March, June and October.

Wednesday’s winning lottery was far from the U.S. jackpot record, which was a whopping $1.586 billion Powerball prize in 2016. Three winning tickets were sold in California, Florida and Tennessee.

There have been several lottery winners whose stories made news headlines, including a couple in England who won just days before their teenage son was declared cancer-free. But for those who do get lucky, make sure to double-check the winnings before making any drastic moves.

A Spanish television reporter in 2019 appeared to quit her job live on air after getting a winning lottery ticket but later discovered her payout was only about $5,500.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.