DES MOINES, Iowa ( Associated Press) – A man in Washington state has won the Powerball lottery and will walk away with $754.6 million.
The winning numbers for Monday’s draw were 05, 11, 22, 23, 69 and Extra Powerball 07.
Monday’s winner was the first player since November 19 to match the numbers. Because it went so long without a winner, the prize accumulated to become the ninth largest in American history.
Lottery officials said Tuesday that one ticket sold had all six correct numbers, and the number of tickets sold was so high that the prize exceeded an earlier estimated $747 million.
The winner can choose to receive all the money at once and in that case they will receive 407.2 million. If the winner chooses to receive their prize in installments, there will be 29 consecutive annual payments that will increase by 5% each.
Both amounts are before taxes, Powerball said.
According to the lottery’s website, the prize for the next Powerball, which will take place on Wednesday, is $20 million.
Due to the recent increase in interest rates, annuities are increasing as compared to the previous years. Most winners choose to receive the entire prize at once.
The modest margin of winning – one in 292.2 million – is designed to inflate the loot and thus attract more buyers. The strategy worked recently, with a man in Maine winning the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot in January, and a man in California winning a record $2.04 billion Powerball in December. So far no one has come forward to recover both those amounts.
Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
