Florida Town Awaits Powerball Winner
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William Thomas Cain/Getty Images(ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla.) — Residents of the small town of Zephyrhills, Fla., are buzzing with excitement that the lucky holder of a Powerball ticket worth $590.5 million could be a neighbor, after the announcement that the winning ticket was sold at a grocery store there.
“I think that’s awesome. I can’t wait to see who it is. I hope it’s somebody I know. I think it would be great,” resident Martha Bennett said.
The central Florida town, with a population of 13,337, was best known as a skydiving destination before lottery officials revealed on Sunday that a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills had sold the winning ticket for the record Powerball jackpot.
The winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing were 10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and a Powerball of 11.
The lucky person or group holding the ticket has not yet come forward, according to lottery officials. However, under Florida law, the winner’s name, age and hometown will be made public.
Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, urged the person holding the ticket to sign it immediately.
“If it were me, I’d put that in an envelope and duct tape it to my chest. I’d be known as the Powerball millionaire with a nasty rash,” he said.
While the residents of Zephyrhills wait to find out if the winner is one of their own, whoever is holding the ticket will have a big decision to make after coming forward.
The winner will have to decide whether to take the annuity or a lump sum, which comes out to $370,896,780.54.
Earlier estimates had put the jackpot at $600 million, however the Powerball website reflected an adjusted total of $590.5 million — still the largest jackpot in the game’s history.
The previous record for a Powerball jackpot was $587.5 million on Nov. 28, 2012, and was split between two winning tickets.
The odds of winning the top jackpot was 1 in 175.2 million.
While there was only one grand prize winner, 31 tickets matched all five numbers, earning those lucky ticket holders a prize of $1 million each. Two tickets sold in New York and South Carolina were Power Play winners worth $2 million each, according to Powerball officials.
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