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And the Winning Powerball Numbers Are…

Nov. 29, 2012 7:54am Jonathon M. Seidl

A sign showing the new Powerball jackpot amount stands beside US 1 highway in Homestead, Fla., Wednesday, Nob. 28, 2012. The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $550 million, the second-largest payout in U.S. history. Tickets are selling at a rate of 130,000 a minute nationwide. That’s about six times the volume from a week ago. Credit: AP

CHICAGO (AP) — The richest Powerball jackpot ever – and the second-largest top prize in U.S. lottery history – has been won. The question now becomes: Who are the lucky winners waking up to new lives as multimillionaires?

Powerball officials said early Thursday morning that tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri matched all six numbers to win the record $579.9 million jackpot.

The numbers drawn Wednesday night are: 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and Powerball of 6.

It was not clear whether the winning tickets belonged to individuals or were purchased by groups. Arizona lottery officials said early Thursday morning they had no information on that state’s winner or winners but would announce where it was sold during a news conference later in the day. Lottery officials in Missouri did not immediately respond to phone messages and emails seeking comment.

Americans went on a ticket-buying spree in the run-up to Wednesday’s drawing, the big money enticing many people who rarely, if ever, play the lottery to purchase a shot at the second-largest payout in U.S. history.

In this photo taken Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, Roselyn Jones purchases a few Powerball tickets from station attendant Claudia Molina at the Conoco Sunrise Market off of Brainerd Road in Chattanooga, Tenn. The historic Powerball jackpot boosted to $500 million on Tuesday was all part of a plan lottery officials put in place early this year to build jackpots faster, drive sales and generate more money for states that run the game. Credit: AP

Tickets were selling at a rate of 130,000 a minute nationwide – about six times the volume from a week ago. That pushed the jackpot even higher before the Wednesday night drawing, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association.

A lottery official said late Wednesday that the jackpot increased to $579.9 million by the time of the drawing, making the cash option $379.8 million.

Among those hoping to win was Lamar Fallie, a jobless Chicago man who said his six tickets conjured a pleasant daydream: If he wins, he plans to take care of his church, make big donations to schools and then “retire from being unemployed.”

The jackpot had already rolled over 16 consecutive times without a winner, but Powerball officials said earlier Wednesday they believed there was a 75 percent chance the winning combination will be drawn this time.

Some experts had predicted that if one ticket hit the right numbers, chances were good that multiple ones would. That happened in the Mega Millions drawing in March, when three ticket buyers shared a $656 million jackpot, which remains the largest lottery payout of all time. And it happened again for Wednesday’s Powerball drawing.

Yvette Gavin, who sold the tickets to Fallie, is only an occasional lottery player herself, but the huge jackpot means she’ll definitely play this time. As for the promises she often gets from ticket purchasers, Gavin isn’t holding her breath.

“A lot of customers say if they win they will take care of me, but I will have to wait and see,” she said.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (14)

Happypenwoman
Posted on November 29, 2012 at 6:30pm
They’re all LOSERS. The system is losing because it is cursed money, the players are losing because it sets precedents for their heirs and gambling is an addiction to many. The so-called winners will be broke, busted, and disgusted pretty soon, and you can bet kids with cancer, etc. etc. will beg from them esp. when their names and faces are publicized. The lottery is cursed. Money is not for playing with.

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Cibolo
Posted on November 29, 2012 at 9:04am
I think the Lotto is a SCAM…… Seems like an easy way to launder money and/or more likely pay people off! Why would anyone trust it when it is run by the Government, you know, the same people that run the corrupt elections in this corrupt nation!

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watashbuddyfriend
Posted on November 29, 2012 at 8:40am
Tell me, how is it that there are no ‘jackpot’ winners, when it is less than $1-million? How can it be that it is always a high number, like $579-million!

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- Apple Bite
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 8:47am
  People are greedy. Other words, they’ll wait til it gets bigger before they try to win.
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 9:12am
  It’s never below $1million. The lowest a Powerball jackpot can be is $40 million.
  
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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on November 29, 2012 at 8:36am
.
And the Winning Powerball Numbers Are…….

Not Mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…………….

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- QuincySmith
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 1:22pm
  I have the same numbers.
  
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kickagrandma
Posted on November 29, 2012 at 8:34am
Winning letters are: G O D
With GOD, we win. There are no chances with HIM. HE IS FAITHFUL and TRUE.

You want to gamble?
Losing numbers are: 6 6 6
They are coming up daily, “folks”.
Cuídate….

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- Kregneva
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 8:45am
  I saw this license plate yesterday:
  
  6616
  
  I asked the driver, a sweet looking grandma-type, what it meant.
  
  “I am One with 6-6-6,” she said and smiled.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 9:13am
  lol KREG…. was the license plate on a broom perhaps?
  
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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 9:37am
  There is no Biblical prohibition on gambling. While there is a prohibition on extremes of many things, there’s no passage I know of that says “Hey, don’t gamble dude, or Jesus is gonna open a can of whomp-*ss on you”. In fact, I believe that most arguments I’ve heard regarding gambling from scholarly Christians are extrapolations on extrapolations connected to long stretches in logic that, if taken at face value, would make all forms of economic activity a sin.
  
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- Kregneva
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 10:04am
  Jeffe, you are a scholar!
  
  I checked my King James for instances of “dude” and found none – so you are 100% right!
  
  I did find three mentions of “can of whomp-*ss” but each was spelled with “whoop”
  
  Report this comment
- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on November 29, 2012 at 10:48am
  @Kreg
  
  Are you saying that my copy of the Lebowski Bible is not a valid translation? :)
  
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- davecorkery
  Posted on November 30, 2012 at 9:19am
  Too bad he is imaginary, too.
  
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