Massachusetts Native Wins Second-Largest Powerball Jackpot In History

The winning Powerball ticket was purchased on Wednesday at a Pride gas station in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

POWERBALL WINNER HAILS FROM MASSACHUSETTS

The winnings totaled $758.7 million, and was the largest single jackpot ever in North America. The Powerball won in January 2016 amassed to $1.6 billion, but the winnings were split between three winning tickets. Wednesday’s winning numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23, and 26, with the Powerball set as 4.

The name of the winner has not been released, but the store owner where the ticket was purchased, Bob Bolduc, told reporters that the ticket was bought around 2:30 pm Wednesday, he thinks by a middle-aged woman. Bolduc also stated that he plans to donate $50,000 of his commission he earns for selling the winning ticket to various local charities that focus on children’s health and education.

Lottery officials erroneously reported that a different store in Watertown, MA, had actually sold the winning ticket. This was due to a transcription error. In fact, the Watertown store did sell a winning ticket – it had all five numbers correct except for the Powerball, valuing it at $1 million. This turned out to be one of 40 tickets that got all the numbers right except the Powerball, meaning that a total of $135 million will be split among 9.5 million ticket buyers who won some sort of secondary prize. Though, as history tells, not everyone will realize they won the smaller prize or claim their lesser winnings.

The IRS taxes the top income bracket 39.6%, so the government will take 25% at the get-go. The remaining percentage will have to be paid at tax time.

Powerball and Mega Millions tickets are available in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The states left out are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, and Utah.