Northern California Powerball ticket wins more than $820,000 as billion-dollar jackpot is claimed

A Powerball ticket sold in Northern California won a substantial prize in Wednesday night’s drawing, narrowly missing the jackpot that had climbed above $1 billion.

The ticket, worth $820,520, was sold at an Arco AM/PM in Sacramento. It matched all five white-ball numbers but not the Powerball, according to the California Lottery.

The winning numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67 and 69. The Powerball was 9, and the Power Play multiplier was 2X.

A ticket sold in Illinois matched all six numbers and won the estimated $1.04 billion jackpot, the eighth-largest in Powerball history.

The winner can choose an estimated $450.5 million cash payment or an annuity totaling $1.04 billion, paid in 30 graduated installments over 29 years. Both amounts are before taxes.

The jackpot had grown through 44 consecutive drawings without a winner. It now resets to an estimated $20 million for Saturday’s drawing.

The Sacramento ticket was one of four tickets nationwide to match all five white ball numbers without the Powerball. Tickets in Arizona, Florida and North Carolina won the standard $1 million prize. A ticket sold in Massachusetts won $2 million with the Power Play option.

California’s Powerball prizes are pari-mutuel, meaning payouts vary according to ticket sales and the number of winners. That is why the Sacramento ticket’s prize differed from the $1 million prize awarded in other states.

The winner’s identity was not immediately known. California Powerball winners have 180 days from the drawing date to claim their prizes.

Powerball tickets cost $2 per play. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338. Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever won was a $2.04 billion prize from a ticket sold in California in November 2022.