Powerball Results
The numbers drawn for Saturday 17th March were 22, 57, 59, 60 and 66, with Powerball 7. As well as the jackpot winner, three players matched five main numbers without the Powerball. One of these entries was sold in Missouri and earned the lucky ticket holder $1 million, while a participant from Texas received $2 million after ticking the Power Play option. The third Match 5 winner, from California, won $1.2 million as local laws dictate that all prizes must be determined on a pari-mutuel basis.
Pennsylvania Winner
The jackpot winner must now decide whether to accept the full €456.7 million in 30 annual instalments, or take a one-off lump sum worth $273.9 million. It is the ninth largest Powerball prize in history, slotting in between the $447.8 million won by a player from Menifee in California on 10th June 2017 and the $487 million won in New Hampshire in July 2016.
Pennsylvania has now had 18 jackpot winners, putting the state level with Kentucky in the list of the most successful jurisdictions. Indiana (39), Missouri (31) and Minnesota (22) are the only states to have delivered more winners.
The latest result marks the first time that the jackpot has been won since a player from New Hampshire snapped up $559.7 million on Saturday 6th January. She last week won her court battle to stay anonymous, despite signing the back of her ticket after the draw. Referring to herself only as Jane Doe in court, the New Hampshire winner successfully argued that she should be allowed to claim the money through a blind trust.
Lottery winners in Pennsylvania do not have the option to claim money through trusts as a way of staying anonymous and their identities have to be made public under the state’s Open Records law. According to the Pennsylvania Lottery Handbook: “If you choose to claim your Lottery prize in the name of a legal entity, such as a trust, the Pennsylvania Lottery will release the name of the entity and other relevant information, including the entity’s beneficiaries, partners or shareholder.”
Next Jackpot
The jackpot will now reset to $40 million for the next draw on Wednesday, giving Powerball players from all participating jurisdictions the chance to become the third winner of the top prize in 2018.
