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Powerball 2016 has at least three winners in $1.6 billion jackpot.
Winning numbers are:8-27-34-4-19 and the Powerball is 10
The Powerball jackpot has rolled over 19 times since October.
Lottery officials said 85.8 percent of possible number combinations had been selected by midday, increasing the chances that someone would win the world’s largest lottery jackpot. But the odds of winning are still extraordinarily slim, at 1 in 292.2 million.
The California Lottery tweeted just minutes after the drawing that they had a winning ticket sold in the state.
We have a winner in California! A jackpot-winning ticket was sold in Chino Hills. We’re still awaiting results from other states.
— California Lottery (@calottery) January 14, 2016
ABC News confirmed two other first prize tickets were sold in Tennessee and Florida.
Channel 2 Action News also confirmed that two $1 million tickets were sold in Atlanta and Douglas, Georgia.
The Georgia Lottery also confirmed a $100,000 winner and 30 $50,000 winners in Georgia.
If someone matched all the winning numbers, the jackpot would be paid in annual payments over 29 years, or the winner could opt for a lump-sum payment of $930 million. Winners have to pay 39.6 percent of the prize in federal income taxes, in addition to any state taxes.
https://twitter.com/MattWSB/status/687525806868856832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Robinson and Sons convenience store on Highway 100 in Tallapoosa, Haralson County, is the busiest Powerball seller in Georgia.
The store is number one because it’s just a stone’s throw from the Alabama state line, which does not have a state lottery.
Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen went to the store Wednesday as people flooded across the border to get a chance, or many chances in some cases, to win the historical $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot.
“That kind of money makes you move and come a long way?” Petersen asked lottery player Jackie Culpepper.
“It will. It’ll make you move. And just hoping and praying that you hit it,” Culpepper said.
Robinson and Sons has five Powerball machines, and they have been humming for a week as the jackpot jumped to more than a billion dollars.
“Longest wait, I think, was an hour that we had last night. And before the weekend, it was almost two,” store manager Fallon Cook told Petersen.
Where you live may affect your Powerball prize
There is no doubt Powerball fever has swept the country, but Channel 2 Action News has learned where people win the jackpot will make a difference on how much they will take home.
The jackpot is valued at $1.5 billion, but the IRS wants their cut as well. Depending on which state the ticket was purchased, the take-home could be even smaller.
Katherine Carter Smith said she doesn’t normally play Powerball, but she told Channel 2’s Dave Huddleston when the jackpot hit $1.5 billion, she couldn’t help it.
“I’m new to this. I’m just filing it out, but I’m sure this billion dollars is waiting just for me,” Smith said.
The Jackpot by the numbers:
JACKPOT: $1.5 Billion
CASH PAYOUT: $930 Million
FEDERAL TAXES: (39.6%): -$368,280,000
GEORGIA TAXES: (6%): -$55,800,000
TAKE HOME: $505,920,000
She’s not the only one who wants to win.
Tim Harrington told Huddleston that he knows he’s going to win, but what’s he going to do with all that money?
“I haven’t decided yet, but I know I won’t be in Atlanta anymore,” Harrington said.
WSB Radio’s Wes Moss told Huddleston that Harrington may want to stay here in the state of Georgia, especially when it comes to paying taxes, especially if he wins that $1.5 billion. Moss hosts the financial show Money Matters.
Moss said like the federal government, the state may want a cut of the money in the form of state income tax.
In Georgia, the lump sum take away would be $507 million.
“That’s a lot better than if you live in Oregon and Minnesota, where it’s estimated you take home only $470 million, because they have higher state income tax,” Moss said.
Agencies/Canadajournal
