Two lucky ticket holders are now in possession of arguably two of the most expensive lottery tickets in the history of this world. In what will go down as the best day of their lives, the ticket holders, whoever they are, woke up Thursday as multi-millionaires after winning the largest Powerball jackpot ever, amounting to $587.5 million.
The two winning tickets are located in Arizona and Missouri with both completely matching the numbers drawn last Wednesday night. The second-highest jackpot in US lottery history after the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot back in March came out with the numbers 5, 16, 22, 23, 29, with the Powerball number being 6. Somehow, someway, two individuals managed to hit all six digits correctly and thus, are poised to share the $587.5 million square even. Do the math and that’s just a shade under $300 mil at $293.75 million per ticket. Take out Uncle Sam’s share of the pot and you’re looking at a net take home of just over $150 million. Whatever way you slice it, there’s a lot of 0’s attached to that number.
According to Missouri’s state lottery commission, the winning ticket from the Show Me State was sold at a convenience store in Dearborn, a town that’s about 35 miles north of Kansas City. Understandably so, nobody has come forward and claimed the prize yet, probably out of fear of the media onslaught that will come with being one of the biggest overnight millionaire stories in the state. Nevertheless, May Scheve Reardon, executive director of the Missouri Lottery, urged those who bought tickets at the convenience store to check their tickets to see if they’re holding one of the two tickets that are now worth more than some companies in America these days. “If you find you’re holding the winning ticket, be sure you sign the back and put it in a safe place until you can take it to a Missouri Lottery office,” Reardon said.
“You will also want to get some legal and financial advice before you claim.”
Want financial advice from us? We say hop on a plane to Vegas, check in at the ritziest suite in town, and set-up camp at the city’s casinos. If you’re lucky enough to win close to $300 million, you’ll probably have enough loose change in your pocket now to enjoy the spoils of your sudden wealth.
As for the winning ticket in Arizona, the state’s lottery officials have yet to receive information regarding the winner, although it’s safe to say that whoever is holding that ticket is protecting it for dear life. After all, hitting on a jackpot of $587.5 million doesn’t happen everyday and as evidenced by the massive onslaught of ticket purchases leading up to the big draw – 130,000 tickets a minute was the estimate – a lot of people – even those who don’t usually play the lottery – were all hoping to be the lucky ones holding the multi-million dollar ticket.
For the rest of the ticket-buying population, tough luck. For the two ticket holders who are now in possession of riches beyond their wildest dreams, congratu-effin-lations!
