The Powerball lottery jackpot for Saturday’s drawing has surged to $625 million, potentially the seventh-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history.
The winning numbers are: 66, 52, 60, 24, 25. Powerball: 5. Power Play: 3x.
The cash option for the drawing was worth an estimated $380.6 million.
The Powerball jackpot was last won by David Johnson, a 56-year-old supermarket worker from Brooklyn, New York. He hit the $298.3 million jackpot on Dec. 26. He chose the cash option worth $180,227,550 and received $114,091,248 after taxes were deducted.
Since then, 24 twice-weekly drawings have been held without a jackpot winner.
The Powerball drawing on Wednesday produced six second-prize winners across the country of either $1 million or $2 million. A $1 million ticket was sold in New Jersey at ShopRite in West Deptford. There were also five tickets worth $50,000 sold in in the state, according to New Jersey Lottery officials.
Wednesday’s winning numbers were: 10, 14, 50, 53 and 63. The Powerball drawn was 21 with a Powerplay of 2X.
Prior to Johnson’s jackpot win the day after Christmas, no one had hit the Powerball top prize since Oct. 27. That’s when two ticket holders – one in New York and one in Iowa – split a $687.8 million jackpot.
Lerynne West, 51, of Redfield, Iowa, and Robert Bailey, of New York City, each won about $343.9 million. They both chose the cash option of about $198 million. After taxes Bailey, 67, walked away with a check for $125 million.
The total prize was the fourth largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history.
The Powerball jackpot was won eight times last year, including once in New Jersey.
On May 18, Little Ferry resident Tayeb Souami won the $315.3 million prize with a ticket he bought at ShopRite in Hackensack. The 55-year-old father of two said he worked as an accountant for a food importing company, but quit his job after learning he hit the jackpot. That prize is the fourth biggest lottery win in New Jersey.
Earlier this month, a 54-year-old man who lives in Alpha, Warren County hit the $273 million Mega Millions drawing.
The odds of hitting the Powerball jackpot are 292,201,388 to 1. A player who buys a $2 ticket has about a 1 in 11,688,053 chance to match five numbers and win at least $1 million.
Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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