The winning numbers were 1, 17, 35, 49, 54, and 34, according to Powerball's website. No details about the winner were available, but the Dixon Landing Chevrongas station will receive $1 million for selling the ticket.
The prize is the sixth-largest in U.S. history, and the fourth-largest for Powerball, according to a spokesperson for the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the game.
The top prize for the lottery, which is drawn twice a week, had rolled over and swelled 15 times since the last jackpot on Christmas Day, said a Powerball spokeswoman in New York.
The top prize amount has been swelling since the last jackpot on Christmas Day. It has rolled over 15 times and increased in value after each drawing since then, said Carolyn Hapeman, Powerball spokeswoman in New York.
If the winner opts to take Wednesday night's prize as a lump sum, it would amount to $227.8 million, the website said.
In the last two years, Powerball prizes have increased considerably, due to ticketprices doubling to $2, and California, the nation's most populous state, joining 42 other states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands in playing the game.
The chance of claiming the jackpot is one in 175 million, regardless of how manytickets a person buys.
The biggest winner in the history of Powerball took home $590 million before taxes after purchasing a winning ticket in May 2013 in Florida.
The Powerball website said the average jackpot winnings are roughly $255 million and about 70 percent of winners buy their tickets with computer generated numbers.
In August, a Powerball jackpot worth $448 million was shared by three winningtickets held by a man in Ham Lake, Minn., a man in Monmouth Junction, N.J., and a group of 16 co-workers in Ocean County, N.J.
A delivery driver who shared a $648 million jackpot with one other winner in a Mega Millions lottery game in December bought his ticket from a gift shop in San Jose, about 10 miles from Milpitas.
More than roughly 70 percent of winners bought tickets with computer-selected numbers, the lottery said.
Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday.
- Chicago Tribune
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