Who won the $1.3 billion Powerball? We still don't know
Last week, someone in Oregon won the eighth-biggest lottery prize in U.S. history – $1.3 billion.
But the winner won’t be announced for at least a couple more weeks, lottery officials with the state said Tuesday, as their ticket is verified and arrangements for the massive payout are made.
The jackpot has a cash value of $621 million if the winner chooses to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years, with an immediate payout followed by 29 annual installments.
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FILE - A giant lottery advertising sign is seen along Highway 101 as U.S. Powerball jackpot grows $1.1 billion, in Belmont of San Mateo County, California, United States on April 1, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Lottery officials said they were taking precautions to verify the win and, in order to send the winner the sum, they will need to coordinate with the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries. That will take time.
"We’ve never had a jackpot this large in Oregon won here. There’s a lot of moving pieces," Oregon Lottery spokesperson Melanie Mesaros said.
Oregon has had five previous Powerball jackpot winners, including two families who shared a $340 million prize in 2005.
RELATED: $1.3B Powerball jackpot won by single ticket holder in Oregon
The latest winning ticket was bought at a convenience store in northeastern Portland.
For selling the winning ticket, managers of the Plaid Pantry location plan to share their $100,000 bonus. The store’s other employees typically get a cut of lottery prize bonus payments too, said Jonathan Polonsky, CEO and president of Plaid Pantry.
The largest U.S. lottery jackpot won was $2.04 billion in California in 2022.
This story was reported from Detroit. The Associated Press contributed.