1 winning ticket in $487M Powerball drawing sold in New Hampshire

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Sunday, July 31, 2016
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NEW YORK (WABC) -- Powerball officials say one ticket sold in New Hampshire matches all six numbers in the Powerball drawing worth $487 million.



The winning numbers for the Powerball are 11-17-21-23-32 and the Powerball number is 5.



The numbers were drawn Saturday night for the nation's eighth-largest lottery jackpot.



There had not been a winner since May 7, when a family from New Jersey won a $429.6 million jackpot.



Tickets are sold in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.



Drawings are held twice a week, and every one that passes without a winner means the prize grows larger, fed by the purchase of more $2 tickets.



The chance of winning the Powerball is incredibly small, at 292.2 million-to-1. But players have much better odds, of about 1 in 25, of winning smaller prizes ranging from $4 to $1 million.



The jackpot has been won only 3 times this year compared to a dozen times in 2015.



It's harder to win because the Multi-State Lottery Association changed the increased the odds of winning. They wanted to generate bigger jackpots that would increase sales and produce even larger prizes. Thanks to the change, three of the largest Powerball prizes, including the current jackpot, have occurred in 2016 - a tally that could grow with five months left in the year.



Saturday;s big but less than a third the size of the record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot won in January by players in California, Florida and Tennessee. At $478 million, the prize would be the fifth-largest in Powerball history and the nation's eighth largest overall, just behind a $536 million Mega Millions prize won July 8.



State and federal taxes vary by state, but in general, winners pay about half the cash amount. So, if someone wins Saturday and opts for the $330.6 million cash option, they'll need to scrape by with roughly $165 million after taxes.



(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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