Powerball Jackpot At $1.5 Billion - But There's One $165 Million Winner

By TOM DAVIS (Patch Staff)

The winning numbers in Saturday’s $949.8 million Powerball drawing have been revealed. Here they are: 16, 19, 32, 34, 57 and Powerball number 13.

Sorry, you did not win the whole thing. Now Wednesday’s jackpot will soar to $1.5 billion.

But somebody won something.

According to Lottery officials, Saturday’s drawing did produce 25 $1 million dollar second place prize winners with three tickets sold at these locations in New York:

CHEF HONG INC, 56-31 METROPOLITAN AVE, RIDGEWOOD, Queens

MR TOBACCO, 17 SINGER LANE, SMITHTOWN, Suffolk County

STEWART’S SHOPS, 2931 ROUTE 9, VALATIE, Columbia County

“History continues to be made with this massive jackpot. Three Lucky New Yorkers are $1 million richer as the excitement spreads across the country,” said Gardner Gurney, Director of the Division of the Lottery.

Plus, lottery officials revealed that a Staten Island deli sold a Mega Millions lottery ticket worth $165 million on Friday. The winner bought the quik-pick ticket at the Willowbrook Deli in Castleton Corners. The Mega Millions winning numbers were 11, 39, 51, 57 and 75, plus the Mega Ball 2.

This history-making Powerball jackpot has skyrocketed sales statewide to $155.8 million for drawings leading up to and including Saturday’s record jackpot drawing.

If no one matches all five numbers plus the Powerball for Wednesday’s drawing, the jackpot will continue to grow. Tickets cost $2 per game and can be purchased until 10:00 p.m. EST.

Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to this jackpot, the largestPowerball jackpot $590.5 million, won in Florida in May 2013.

Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot will be nearly double a 2012 Mega Millions jackpot of $656 million that had been the record for the largest lotto jackpot in U.S. history.

So what should you do if you win the lottery? Alexa von Tobel, CEO of the online financial planning website LearnVest, offered a few tips to Patch from a financial planning standpoint.

Sign the ticket: The most important step ensures you claim the ticket as your own.

Maintain anonymity: In many states, von Tobel says, you have a whole year to claim the prize.

“If you let your name be released to the public record, a swarm of people will almost immediately descend on you, legitimate and not, trying to make a grab for your business,” she said.

“Some past lottery winners have even felt the need for police escorts, have received threats and have been tempted to run away or leave their hometowns because of the sheer number of people who “want a piece of them.”

Assemble a financial planning team: “You must decide whether including whether to take a lump sum or an annuity,” she said. “There are many pros and cons to weigh: including estate taxes, how much money you’ll ultimately make, whether you’ll be able to handle it all at once, etc.”

Wait six months before making any major decisions: “It’s all too easy to blow through those millions,” von Tobel said. “In fact, according to a 2015 study by the Camelot Group, 44 percent of winners spend their entire winnings within five years.”

Patch Editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.