Powerball Tickets in Missouri and Texas Split Nearly $1.8 Billion Jackpot

Powerball tickets sold in Missouri and Texas matched all six numbers Saturday, producing two winners who will split the $1.787 billion jackpot, lottery officials said.

The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61 and 62, with the Powerball 17. The Texas winning ticket was sold at a gas station-convenience store in Fredericksburg, the Texas Lottery reported. Officials said the two winning tickets will divide the prize, which was the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot on record.

The jackpot reached $1.787 billion after 41 consecutive drawings without a top-prize winner, following the last jackpot victory on May 31. Powerball’s long odds — 1 in 292.2 million for the jackpot — allow prizes to grow as drawings roll over when no ticket matches all six numbers, producing large headline jackpots that drive ticket sales.

Each of the winning ticket holders will choose between the advertised annuitized prize of $893.5 million or a lump-sum cash option of $410.3 million, both figures before federal and any applicable state taxes. The annuity option pays one immediate installment followed by 29 annual payments that increase 5% each year, a structure designed to equal the advertised jackpot over time.

Powerball tickets cost $2 and the game is offered in 45 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held three times a week. Lottery officials and economists routinely note that while the chance of winning the jackpot is extremely small, the odds of winning many of the game’s smaller prizes are substantially better.

The massive prize and the publicity around it typically generate heightened retail activity at locations that sell tickets and renewed public attention on the structure and social impact of large lottery jackpots, including discussions about taxation, lump-sum versus annuity choices, and state lottery revenues. Officials have not released information about whether the winners will claim the prizes anonymously; laws on anonymity vary by state.

Officials from the Missouri and Texas lotteries provided basic details about the winning numbers and ticket locations but did not identify the ticket purchasers. Winners generally have a window in which to claim prizes, and they may seek financial, legal and tax advice before choosing how to receive their payout.

The split jackpot ends a three-month stretch without a top-prize winner and will likely spur reporters and analysts to watch for the winners’ decisions and any subsequent claims or announcements, which typically occur in the days and weeks after a large lottery victory.