Single ticket scoops US$758.7 million US jackpot

[NEW YORK] The second largest jackpot in US history, US$758.7 million, has been won by a single ticket bought in small town Massachusetts in an historic individual bonanza, lottery officials said Thursday.

Wednesday's winning numbers were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, drawn from five white balls, and 4 as the so-called Powerball number on a red ball in the multi-state lottery.

Powerball said it was "the highest jackpot won on a single ticket and the biggest lottery prize ever awarded to one single person." The identity of the winning ticket holder was not immediately revealed. The lottery said the ticket was bought from a convenience store in Chicopee, about 160 kilometers west of Boston.

The player has one year to claim their prize, choosing between taking the jackpot as an annuity spread over 30 years or a one-off cash lump sum of US$480.5 million, depending on state taxes.

The US$758.7 million jackpot is Powerball's highest since the January 2016 world record prize of nearly US$1.6 billion, which was split between three ticket holders who each took home US$528.8 million.

A mad rush for tickets pushed Wednesday's jackpot up from an originally announced US$650 million as lines formed out of shopping malls and grocery stores, Powerball said.

The drawing also created 40 overnight millionaires with 34 players matching five numbers and six ticket holders matching five numbers, the lottery announced.

The January 2016 jackpot was scooped by winners who bought tickets in Tennessee, California and Florida.

AFP