$559.7m Powerball jackpot won in New Hampshire

$559.7M POWERBALL JACKPOT WON IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

The first weekend of 2018 is one that will go down in lottery history. Friday saw a ticket in Florida win a $450m Mega Millions jackpot and just a day later, the Powerball jackpot of $559.7m was won by a ticket sold in New Hampshire, USA. That’s just over $1bn in prizes won in an incredible weekend.We recently told you about the big lottery wins in the USA last year and this weekend will definitely be in the 2018 review. Players had been rushing to buy tickets for the January 6 Powerball draw, all hoping to win the jackpot that had climbed over the half a billion dollars mark. The winning numbers in the draw were 12-29-30-33-61 and the all-important Powerball 26. With only three of the main numbers being between 1 and 31, this wasn’t one of those wins that was earned via numbers that represented birthdays and anniversaries.That was the case when Judy Finchum from Colorado, USA, won a $133.2m Powerball jackpot last year. The same applies to Mavis Wanczyk from Massachusetts, who won a record-breaking $758.7m Powerball jackpot last August.The winning ticket was sold at Reeds Ferry Market in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The store owner Sam Safa will be celebrating too as they will receive a $75,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.Mr Safa says that he is very excited and overwhelmed by the fact his store has sold the winning Powerball ticket. He added that many of his regulars at the store that has been in business for over 100 years have been stopping by since opening at 5.30am on Sunday to congratulate him and chat about the big Powerball win.The jackpot was initially estimated at $570 million, but the actual amount after the draw was held turned out to be $559.7 million.Also celebrating but cursing their inability to match the Powerball are five tickets that were able to get the five main balls drawn out. They all win their lucky but oh so close to the jackpot owners $1m and were sold in Connecticut, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.This Powerball draw celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and this jackpot win is the seventh largest in US Lottery history and the fifth largest ever Powerball win.The Powerball jackpot winner now has to decide whether to receive their winnings in 30 annual payments or a one-time, lump-sum cash payment. The estimated cash value of this Powerball jackpot win is $358.5 millionThe next Powerball draw takes place on Wednesday January 10 with a $40m jackpot. Purchase your tickets online now at Lottery24.com.