Wiing Powerball ticket worth $429M sold in New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. >> Someone is holding onto the sole wiing Powerball ticket that was sold in New Jersey and is worth $429.6 million, lottery officials said Sunday.

Only one ticket matched all six numbers in Saturday night’s drawing, said Powerball spokeswoman Kelly Cripe. The wiing Powerball numbers were 5-25-26-44-66 and the Powerball number was 9.

Lottery officials in New Jersey said early Sunday that the wiing ticket was sold in Mercer County. The location will not be disclosed until certain security procedures are completed, officials said, and it’s anticipated that the location will be revealed by Monday.

“Wiing the Powerball jackpot is a life-changing event. Congratulations to the ticketholder(s) and to the retailer who sold it,” New Jersey Lottery executive director Carole Hedinger said in a statement. “We expect that the wier or wiers will take their time before claiming the prize and consult with the appropriate professionals that can assist them in navigating these unchartered waters. Certainly though, we will be anxiously awaiting the phone call.”

Hedinger said the jackpot is the seventh-largest in Powerball jackpot history.

The jackpot Saturday had climbed to nearly $430 million, making the prize the largest since a record $1.6 billion payout in January that prompted some to wait in hours-long lines outside lottery retailers. But unlike Saturday night’s drawing, that jackpot was shared by three wiing tickets.

Only one wiing ticket will claim Saturday night’s prize, though it was not immediately known if that ticket was held by one or more people. Kripe said a wier, or co-wiers, electing a one-time cash payout will receive $284 .1 million.

This isn’t the first time Powerball luck has struck in New Jersey. In 2013, a sole ticket claimed a $383 million Powerball jackpot.

Seven tickets from Saturday night’s drawing matched five numbers and claimed $1 million, including three in New York, two in Illinois and one apiece in Califoia and Virginia.

Powerball is played in 44 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The odds of wiing are one in 292.2 million.

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