WASHINGTON — A single ticket sold in Michigan won the Powerball jackpot on New Year's Day, taking home the fifth-largest prize in the lottery game's history.
The estimated jackpot had jumped to $842.4 Million by the time of the drawing Monday night. And while the winner is currently anonymous, they will eventually need to come forward publicly to claim their prize.
The winner has the option to take the full jackpot paid out over 30 years or a smaller cash payout. Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Monday was $425.2 million. But that's also before taxes come into the equation.
Who won the Powerball?
The short answer is that we don't know...yet. And it may be quite some time before we find out exactly who won the Powerball jackpot.
In Michigan, winners have up to a year to claim a Powerball grand prize.
And while winners in some states can choose to stay anonymous when claiming their prize, that's not the case in this scenario. According to the Michigan lottery, those playing in state-only games are granted anonymity under state law. However, for multi-state games - like Powerball and Mega Millions, Michigan state law defers to the overall rules of those games, which allow for the names of winners to be public.
In Michigan, the winner's name, along with the city they live in is considered public record, according to The Detroit News, which also confirmed that a trust cannot claim a lottery prize in Michigan.
Most lottery jackpot winners stay anonymous if they can, fearing unwanted attention and unscrupulous grabs for the money. Those in favor of identifying winners argue that it helps maintain transparency and public trust in the games.
Where was the winning $842.4 million Powerball ticket sold?
The winning ticket was sold at the Food Castle convenience store in Grand Blanc Township, near Flint. According to WJRT, Food Castle has been a fixture in the community for nearly 40 years.
“Usually, you hear stuff like that happening in different states,” store owner Bill Nannoshi told the station. “So, it’s great. It’s great for this community. I mean, Grand Blanc is an awesome place to work.”
Before the big win on New Year's, the jackpot had been growing since mid-October.
The chance of winning the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 292.2 million.
Other top-winning tickets include four sold in California, Connecticut, Florida and Maryland, that matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. Two tickets, from Florida and Texas, matched all five white balls and won $2 million prizes by including the Power Play option for an additional $1 per play.
What were the winning Powerball numbers for Monday, January 1, 2024?
The winning numbers were 12-21-42-44-49, Powerball 1.
How much money will the $842.4 million Powerball winner will actually get?
The winner who beat the lottery's astronomical odds for Monday's Powerball drawing has a hefty tax bill waiting for them.
That's because lottery winnings are treated as income by the federal government and most states, including Michigan, so the jackpots are subject to state and federal income taxes. However, there are 13 states that do not collect taxes on residents' lottery winnings.
According to estimates from USAMega.com, if the Michigan winner of the $842.4 million Powerball jackpot would take the lump sum option they'd earn $249,846,812 after taxes.
But for example, if that ticket would've been sold in New York, which has the highest state tax withholding at 8.82%, the net payout would've dropped to $221,571,012, according to USA Mega estimates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.