Crime & Safety
Powerball Winning Lottery Numbers For $949.8 Million Jackpot, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016
The winning numbers for Saturday's record-breaking Powerball jackpot have been drawn. Did you win?
UPDATE: There were no jackpot winners in Saturday Powerball drawing, but three second place tickets worth $1 million were sold in New York. You can see where those $1 million tickets were sold here.
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.
Find out what's happening in Smithtownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
It is not yet know if anyone won the jackpot. If there are no winners, the jackpot will rise to at least $1.3 billion for the Wednesday, Jan. 13 drawing.
Saturday’s Powerball jackpot easily topped a 2012 Mega Millions jackpot of $656 to set a new record for the largest lotto jackpot in U.S. history.
Find out what's happening in Smithtownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The New York Lottery announced Saturday morning that hourly Powerball sales in the state had climbed to $1.7 million per hour as dreamers from across 44 states rushed to buy tickets for a chance at the massive jackpot.
“This history making Powerball jackpot has skyrocketed sales statewide to $123.5 million as of 11 a.m. this morning,” said Gardner Gurney, director of the division of the New York Lottery.
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.”
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