WASHINGTON — A California lottery player has won the Powerball jackpot, taking home the second-largest lottery prize in U.S history.
That new billionaire's ticket is worth $1.765 billion. And while the winner is currently anonymous, they will eventually need to come forward into the public eye to claim their jaw-dropping prize.
The winner has the option to take the full jackpot paid out over 30 years or a smaller cash payout. Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Wednesday was $756.6 million.
And like a string of billion-plus dollar winners in recent years, Wednesday's jackpot winner bought their ticket in California, which has well-defined laws about what a lottery winner can and can't do.
Who won the Powerball jackpot?
The short answer is that we don't know. And it may be quite a bit of time before we find out exactly who won the massive Powerball jackpot.
In California, winners have up to a year to claim a Powerball or Mega Millions grand prize, according to the California lottery's winner's handbook.
And while winners in some states can choose to stay anonymous, California law requires the jackpot winger's name to be released when they come forward to claim their prize, but they can choose to keep other details private.
Most lottery jackpot winners stay anonymous if they can, fearing unwanted attention and unscrupulous grabs for the money. Those in favor of identifying winners argue that it helps maintain transparency and public trust in the games.
When the winner of last fall's record-setting $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot claimed his prize in California, lottery officials shared his name and released a statement from him. But that winner - Edwin Castro - did not appear at the announcement event and declined the opportunity to do any media interviews.
Lottery officials also usually recommend jackpot winners take some time to calm down and talk to a financial planner before rushing to the nearest lottery office.
Where was the winning $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot ticket sold?
The winning ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, according to the California Lottery.
Frazier Park is a small community of around 2,500 residents nestled in the heart of California, about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles.
It's the latest in a string of lucky lotto breaks for California players. Every jackpot in Powerball history that has topped $1 billion has been either won outright by somebody from California or split with somebody from the state.
The record $2.04 billion jackpot — the largest in lottery history and the only one higher than Wednesday's prize — was also won with a ticket sold in Southern California.
Is there any way to avoid having their name released?
Sometimes, there is!
State Farm, in their FAQ on what to do if you win the lottery, suggests "forming a blind trust through your attorney to anonymously receive the money, keeping your name out of the spotlight."
It's a move that's been used recently to claim winnings without disclosing the winner's identity.
We may never know the identity of the Maine winner who claimed the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot back in February of this year, despite Maine not being an anonymous-winner state. That's because they accepted the winnings through the limited liability company LaKoma Island Investments, LLC, according to a release from the Maine State Lottery.
The winner chose the cash option, a one-time lump-sum payment of $723,564,144 before taxes, the Maine State Lottery release stated.
“The winner is thoughtfully considering the best uses of the life-changing prize," a representative for the winner said in the release.
However, that strategy doesn't work in California. According to a winner's handbook from the California lottery, "regulations do not allow a trust to claim a prize. Understand that your name is still public and reportable."
So even if the California Powerball winner decided to create a blind trust, their name would still legally have to be released to claim their prize.
What were the winning Powerball numbers for Wednesday, October 11, 2023?
The winning numbers are 24-52-40-22-64 Powerball 10 and 2X Power Play.
What are my chances of winning the Powerball?
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
Over the past few years, huge lottery jackpots have become more common as lottery officials have changed the rules and ticket prices to boost top prizes.
Powerball's biggest change came in 2021 when officials decided to add a Monday drawing to its weekly lineup of Wednesday and Saturday evening drawings. At the time of the announcement, Powerball proclaimed the addition of the Monday drawing would lead to "larger, faster-growing jackpots."