The last time players saw a Powerball jackpot worth more than the one on offer tonight was back in February when the top prize reached a phenomenal $425 million after 15 draws passed without a top tier winner. One player finally matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday 19th February and secured the entire jackpot prize pool of $425.3 million.
The lucky winner, named as B. Raymond Buxton, exercised a healthy sense of humour by collecting his prize on April Fool’s Day, over a month after the draw took place. The Californian man stepped forward wearing a strikingly appropriate Star Wars t-shirt which featured key character Yoda and the slogan "Luck of the Jedi I have."
Buxton purchased the winning ticket on a whim from the Dixon Landing Chevron gas station in Milpitas. He had already purchased his regular lottery tickets earlier in the week but decided that the record breaking jackpot was worth buying an additional ticket for and it was this extra ticket that won him the jackpot!
"It's amazing how a little slip of paper can change your life," said Buxton, who estimates he has been playing the lottery for 20 years. Buxton’s jackpot was the largest in Californian lottery history and the sixth largest ever won in the United States.
While the current jackpot is still a considerable way off February’s $425 million jackpot but second place is nothing to be sniffed at. If you’d like to participate in tomorrow’s Powerball draw, tickets can be purchased online via the Lottery Tickets tab or in person from an authorised retailer.