Wednesday’s winning $731.1 million Powerball jackpot ticket — the fourth-largest jackpot in that lottery’s history — was sold in Maryland, according to lottery officials.
A single ticket matched all six numbers in the drawing: 40, 53, 60, 68, 69, plus Powerball 22, and Power Play multiplier 3X.
The winner will have the choice between an estimated annuity of $731.1 million, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a lump-sum payment of $546.8 million — before taxes, of course.
The winning ticket for Wednesday’s jackpot was sold at Coney Market in the small town of Lonaconing. in Allegany County, located in northwestern Maryland.
Coney Market will receive a $100,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
“We’re really happy for somebody,” Richard Ravenscroft, the store’s owner, told The Associated Press by phone. “We don’t know who it is yet.”
Lonaconing, a former mining town, is home to about 300 families and well off the beaten track, with a poverty rate of more than 22%, well above the national average.
Coney Market, named for what locals call their town, is in a standalone building more than a century old, along Maryland’s Route 36. It’s a place where people can eat hamburgers and submarine sandwiches in a small seating area that draws its share of regulars.
“I can’t wait to congratulate the person. I just hope whoever has won it uses it wisely and that other people benefit from it,” Ravenscroft said.
Ravenscroft, for his part, wants to expand the store’s kitchen and add menu items such as mashed potatoes and gravy. Perhaps the bonus can help with that.
AC&T #130, in Hagerstown, sold a Powerball ticket with Power Play worth $2 million for the same drawing.
The Hagerstown store will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the second-tier winning ticket,
“Congratulations to our winners in the Powerball drawing,” Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica said in a release. “This is a truly exciting day for Maryland as we wait to see who will step forward to claim the jackpot and the $2 million prize.”
The winner or winners of the $731.1 million jackpot may never be known. Maryland is one of a handful of states where the Powerball winner can stay anonymous. But keeping quiet about such a huge windfall could prove difficult if the ticket was bought by a local.
Following the win, the new jackpot drops to an estimated $20 million for the next drawing Saturday.
Top 10 Powerball jackpots:
- $1.586 billion — Jan. 13, 2016 — California, Florida, Tennessee
- $768.4 million — March 27, 2019 — Wisconsin
- $758.7 million — Aug. 23, 2017 — Massachusetts
- $731.1 million — Jan. 20, 2021 — Maryland
- $687.8 million — Oct. 27, 2018 — Iowa, New York
- $590.5 million — May 18, 2013 — Florida
- $587.5 million — Nov. 28, 2012 — Arizona, Missouri
- $564.1 million — Feb. 11, 2015 — North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- $559.7 million — Jan. 6, 2018 — New Hampshire
- $487.0 million — July 30, 2016 — New Hampshire
The prize also was the fifth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot.
The largest ever lottery jackpots in the nation were the $1.586 billion Powerball on Jan. 13, 2016, followed by the $1.537 billion Mega Million on Oct. 23, 2018.
Another 12 Powerball tickets matched all five white balls but missed matching the red Powerball, winning $1 million each. One of the tickets, which was sold in Maryland, ended up with the prize doubled to $2 million. The winner had chosen the option called Power Play for an extra dollar.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
