$50K Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in CT, Jackpot Soars to $455M

There is good news and bad news concerning the Powerball jackpot which has gone without a jackpot winner for weeks. The bad news is nobody won the top prize of $420 million March 14, which means the jackpot has risen to $455 million on Saturday, March 17. The cash amount will be worth $269.4 million.

The good news for Connecticut is that one person got four numbers and the Powerball number correct and has won $50,000. According to the Connecticut Lottery, 21,773 "winning" tickets were sold in the state for the March 14 Powerball drawing.

That means there was one $50,000 winner, 17 people won $300, 30 people won $100 and a whole lot of people won between $4 and $21.

The winning Powerball numbers for Wednesday, March 14, are: 06, 12, 24, 41, 68 and the Powerball of 09.

Numbers are drawn every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern time. The Powerball game is played by matching all five white balls in any order and the red Powerball number. The odds of picking the correct Powerball grand prize numbers are one in 292,201,338.

Powerball tickets cost $2 each, and are sold at thousands of Lottery retailers. Find out where you can buy your Powerball tickets here.

In most states, ticket sales cut off at least an hour before the drawing, but a state may cut off sales earlier. Illinois ends sales three hours before the drawing. In Maryland and New Jersey, ticket sales end at 9:59 p.m.; in Virginia, they close at 10 p.m. Check with your state lottery for the sales cut-off time.

The record in the game was a $1.6 billion drawing in January 2016, which was shared by three winners in Florida, Tennessee and California. That was followed by the Aug. 23, 2017 win of $758 million, the second-largest Powerball jackpot in the game's history.

The largest three Powerball jackpots ever are:

• $1.6 Billion — January 2016
• $758 Million — August 2017
• $590.5 Million — February 2013

The January 2016 record Powerball jackpot was worth nearly $1.6 billion. But Americans will still drop by the nearest convenience store with dreams of cash and buy a ticket. The billion dollar-plus prize won in the Jan. 13, 2016, drawing was the largest lotto jackpot awarded in U.S. history and was split by three winners. In the summer of 2016, a New Hampshire player won a $478 million prize; the June 10 win of $447 million was the eighth-largest jackpot in the game's history.

If you still want to take a shot — someone has to win, right? — you have a better chance of hitting the jackpot if you let the computer pick your numbers. The Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the Powerball game, says about 75 percent of winning tickets are selected when the numbers are chosen by a computer.

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The lottery game is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball draws can be seen on 125 TV stations nationwide. It may also be available on cable or your mobile device. Where to watch the Powerball drawing on TV. Drawing shows are also posted to Powerball.com under the video section and to YouTube.

Claiming, Safeguarding Winnings

So, what should you do if you win the Powerball jackpot? Many lottery winners hire an attorney, financial planner or both, since most people don't exactly know what to do when they suddenly come into so much money. Some even bring their lawyer with them to claim their prize. The lottery does not offer any counseling services or advice for winners.

You have two choices when you claim your prize: the full value paid in 30 installments over 29 years, or a one-time lump sum that is smaller than the actual total. Then there are taxes. The federal tax on lottery winnings is 25 percent. Any extra income taxes, like state or city, would also apply.

Financial experts say if you can get more than a 3 or 4 percent return on an investment, the lump sum is actually the best way to go in the long-term.

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Written by Patch Editors Deb Belt and Brian McCready

Patch file photo courtesy of Powerball