A person from Michigan has kicked off 2024 by winning a Powerball jackpot worth $842 million.
The winning ticket was sold at a grocery store in Grand Blanc on New Year’s Day. The total pot of $842 million is the second-largest jackpot ever won from a ticket sold in Michigan.
The winner would receive an estimated $452.5 million if they choose to receive the one-time lump sum payment.
Specifically, the winning ticket was sold at Food Castle supermarket in Grand Blanc, just outside Flint. And, the winner has yet to contact the Michigan Lottery to claim the prize.
Michigan person’s jackpot is the 10th largest in US history
Powerball is a multi-state lottery that sells tickets in 45 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, as well as Puerto Rico. According to the New York Times, the jackpot of $842 million, before taxes, is the 10th largest in US lottery history.
In 2021, a group of people in Oakland County who purchased their ticket in Novi, won the $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot. Notably, that remains the largest single jackpot won in the state of Michigan.
In 2022, a man in California won $2.04 billion in the Powerball, the largest sum ever in lottery history in the nation.
Lottery jackpots have been inching over half-a-billion dollars more often in recent years. In 2023, four lotteries exceeded $1 billion.
With Powerball and Mega Millions, the jackpot grows larger each time a drawing fails to produce a winner. Also, a larger sum of the money collected from sales of tickets is poured into the jackpot with those multi-state games. And, that makes them lucrative and far bigger than single-state lotteries.
Specifically, Monday’s winner was drawn following 34 consecutive Powerball drawings without a winning ticket.
How Powerball works
In Powerball, players must match five numbers and the “Powerball” number.
On Monday, the winning numbers were 12, 21, 42, 44, 49, and 1. Anyone who matches five of the six numbers is awarded $2 million. Notably, on Monday, someone in Florida, as well as another ticket holder in Texas, did so.
Four others matched four numbers, earning $1 million each.
Powerball is governed by the Multi-State Lottery Association.
It estimates the odds of winning the grand prize are one in more than 292.2 million. Monday’s winner was the fifth-largest jackpot ever for the Powerball game, which began on New Year’s Day in 1992. According to the Lottery Association, this is the first time a jackpot was awarded on Jan. 1.
Bottom line, winners of Powerball have the option of taking a lump sum payment. And, that typically results in a prize of 40-50% of the grand prize, or selecting an annuity.
Yes, the annuity pays more overall money, but it’s spread out over decades of payments.
