Georgia Player Makes History with $478M Powerball Jackpot Win

Georgia has a new Powerball jackpot winner after an incredibly fortunate person beat the 1 in 292.2 million odds for the grand prize, winning the mind-blowing jackpot of $478.2 million. The mysterious winner purchased their ticket in Buford and matched all winning numbers from the Powerball drawing on Wednesday.

The Winner Faces a Choice: The Entire Jackpot Through Annuity or a Lump Cash Sum

To secure the astronomical prize, the winner matched correctly all winning white balls from the draw 2, 15, 27, 29, 39 as well as the red Powerball number 20 on October 23. The popular lottery game confirmed that the winning ticket was purchased from Quick Mart at 2155 Buford Dam Road in Buford. Surprisingly, the user purchased the ticket with a Quick Pick option, which generates random numbers for the Powerball drawing.

Winning the jackpot, the fortunate Georgia lottery player is now facing two options. They can either collect the entire $478.2 million prize through annuity payments with initial immediate payment followed by 29 annual installments or collect a lump cash sum of $230.6 million.

In the case of the lump cash sum, the money is collected instantly. Still, it’s important to note that both sums are before the applicable taxes. Under the rules regarding lottery winnings in Georgia, the player will have 180 days to claim their prize.

Two Players Nearly Missed the Jackpot, Retailer That Sold the Ticket to Receive a Bonus

Gretchen Corbin, the Georgia Lottery’s president and CEO, congratulated the player who in fact won the largest jackpot in the state’s lottery history. “With every Powerball ticket sold in Georgia supporting HOPE and Pre-K, Georgia’s students are also big winners. As we celebrate our lucky winner, we also thank our players and retailers for their support of our mission,” she explained.

Previously, the record for the largest jackpot was held by a Stone Mountain resident. The fortunate winner was due to receive half of a $648 million Mega Millions jackpot but selected a cash option which was a total of $173 million.

There is an incentive for the retailers who sell tickets with large lottery prizes. In the case of Georgia, retailers that sell winning Powerball jackpot tickets can earn a bonus of $50,000.

While a Georgia resident won the recent Powerball jackpot, two players nearly missed the grand prize. One ticket holder in Texas and one in Pennsylvania matched the winning white balls to collect a tier-two prize of $1 million each.