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One Powerball ticket matches winning numbers for record $2.04 billion prize — but if a lump sum is chosen, far less will be taken home
Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

One Powerball ticket matches winning numbers for record $2.04 billion prize — but if a lump sum is chosen, far less will be taken home

A single Powerball ticket matched all the winning numbers drawn for a record payout of $2.04 billion, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

But if a lump sum is chosen, far less will be taken home.

What are the details?

The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California — a community in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles, the AP said.

Joe’s Service Center will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million for selling the winning ticket, the AP added.

It's taken more than three months of drawings to get to a top-prize winning ticket, the outlet said, adding that the winning numbers were 10, 33, 41, 47, and 56 (white balls) and another number 10 on the red Powerball.

More from the AP:

The $2.04 billion jackpot was by far the largest lottery prize ever won, topping the previous record $1.586 billion prize won by three Powerball ticketholders in 2016. Only four previous jackpots have topped $1 billion, but none of those are close to the current prize, which started at $20 million back on Aug. 6 and has grown over three winless months. No one has won the jackpot since Aug. 3.

The jackpot was initially reported as an estimated $1.9 billion on Monday, but the prize was increased to $2.04 billion Tuesday morning after updated calculations.

The winning numbers were actually drawn Tuesday morning — almost 10 hours after the scheduled Monday night drawing — because of problems processing sales data at one of the game’s member lotteries, the AP noted.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, the outlet added.

The $2.04 billion prize is for an annuity paid annually over 29 years, the AP said — but nearly all winners choose a single cash payout, and this one is valued at $997.6 million.

Calm down, y'all

If the winner or winners chose the nearly 1 billion lump sum, Forbes said the IRS will get a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding of $239,424,000 — and that leaves a reduced total of $758,176,000.

The magazine added that the winner or winners get socked again with a federal marginal rate of up to 37%. Forbes said that means the total is lessened by another $126,560,096 — assuming there are no additional incomes, dependents, or itemized tax deductions such as charitable giving — resulting in a final total of $631,615,904.

The kicker? With all the legit complaints about California life of late, the Golden State has at least one thing going for it — it's one of 14 states that don’t tax prize winnings, Forbes said.

Here's a video of folks at Joe's Service Center reacting to the $1 million bonus prize:

Powerball jackpot-winning ticket sold in Altadena, Californiawww.youtube.com

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Dave Urbanski

Dave Urbanski

Sr. Editor, News

Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News and has been writing for Blaze News since 2013. He has also been a newspaper reporter, a magazine editor, and a book editor. He resides in New Jersey. You can reach him at durbanski@blazemedia.com.
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