Powerball Winners: 3 Lukcy Ticketholders To Split $448 Million Powerball Jackpot

Three people from two different states claimed winning tickets to the $448 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday – the fourth largest lottery jackpot ever in the United States.

The winners, two in New Jersey, one in Minnesota, will split the $448 million prize after all three matched the jackpot numbers and the Powerball, which were 05, 25, 30, 58, 59, and Powerball 32. After the prize money is taxed the winners will reportedly split $258,163,064.

In May, Gloria McKenzie, an 84-year-old widow, made history when she won the ‘Quick Pick’ Powerball jackpot of $590 million dollars in Florida, making her the single winner of the largest lottery sum in the United States. After taxes, McKenzie reportedly won around $278 million.

The trend of greater jackpots is all part of a rebranding of sorts for Powerball – the company recently doubled the price of a ticket, from one dollar to two dollars, in an attempt at narrowing their consumer base, inflating the jackpots, boosting revenue and evening the odds a bit for those who do choose to participate. According to a report by NBC News, this new strategy is proving extremely effective, with Powerball seeing a 50 percent increase in profits.

However, lottery companies run the risk of alienating consumers who become disenchanted with smaller jackpots as those reaching in the hundreds of millions become more common.

“A lottery game does depend on luck. A year with a lot of small jackpots, that would have probably kept a lot of people from buying,” said Chuck Strutt of the Multi-State Lottery Association.

Powerball is available in 43 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are reportedly one in 175 million.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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