QuikTrip in St. Louis Sold One of Two Tickets That Split $1.787 Billion Powerball

Missouri lottery officials said a QuikTrip gas station in north St. Louis County sold one of two winning Powerball tickets that split a $1.787 billion jackpot, yielding an annuitized prize of $893.5 million for each ticket holder.

The drawing’s winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61 and 62, with a Powerball of 17. The other winning ticket was sold at a convenience store and gas station in Fredericksburg, Texas. Each ticket holder may choose between an annuitized prize of $893.5 million or a lump-sum payment of $410.3 million; both amounts are before taxes.

The jackpot was the second-largest in U.S. history and followed 41 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. Lottery officials said the last drawing that produced a jackpot winner occurred May 31.

The Missouri award dwarfs the state’s previous Powerball record of $293.7 million, set in 2012, according to the Missouri Lottery Commission website. Neither of the two recent winners has been identified publicly.

Laws in several states have been changed in recent years to allow lottery winners to preserve their privacy. Texas and Missouri enacted statutes that permit winners to remain anonymous; Texas’ law took effect in 2018 and Missouri’s in 2021. In Texas, anonymity is allowed only for prizes above $1 million.

Lottery officials typically release minimal information about winning retailers and the drawing itself while honoring winners’ decisions about disclosure. The Missouri Lottery identified the retailer as a QuikTrip in north St. Louis County but provided no personal details about the ticket buyer.

Winners who select the annuitized payout receive annual payments over a set period, while the lump-sum payment is a one-time cash option. Both payout choices are subject to federal and state taxes, which will reduce the amounts ultimately received by the winners.

The massive jackpot attracted attention after more than a month of drawings without a match on all six numbers, a streak that helped the prize swell to historic levels. State lottery officials in both Missouri and Texas will administer the claims according to their respective rules and timelines for verifying winning tickets and processing payments.

Retailers that sell winning tickets typically receive a bonus or commission from the state lottery, and the sales of related tickets often rise in the wake of large jackpots, but specifics about retailer payouts were not provided by officials in the initial announcements. The two winning ticket holders have the option to claim their prizes under the confidentiality provisions allowed in their states or to come forward publicly, a decision that will determine how much additional personal information becomes available.