(FOX40.COM) — The fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history was recently won in Oregon, however, in California, large lottery jackpot wins have become somewhat of a normal thing.
According to Powerball’s website, the winning ticket was sold in Portland, the largest city in Oregon, and was purchased on Saturday. The winning numbers were 22-27-44-52-69 and the Powerball number was 9. With the lottery set at $1.33 billion, the amount won by the ticketholder from Oregon had a cash value of $621 million.
Oregon’s Powerball winner joins a list of eight other people in the United States who have won jackpots valued at $1 billion or more, with the first one happening in 2016 when three separate families from California, Florida, and Tennessee won a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot.
The largest Powerball jackpot in US history was won by Edwin Castro in Southern California, totaling $2.04 billion. The ticket was sold in Nov. 2022 at Joe’s Service Center in an unincorporated community near Los Angeles.
Here is a list of the largest jackpots won in the US and the state where the tickets were sold.
- $2.04 billion, Powerball (Altadena, Los Angeles County)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball (three tickets: California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.58 billion, Mega Millions (Neptune Beach, Florida, Duval County)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions (Simpsonville, South Carolina, Greenville County)
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions (Lebanon, Maine, York County)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions (Des Plaines, Illinois, Cook County)
- $1.08 billion, Powerball (Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions (Novi, Michigan, Oakland County)
- $768.4 million, Powerball (New Berlin, Wisconsin, Waukesha County)
- $758.7 million, Powerball (Chicopee, Massachusetts, Hampden County)
Lottery winnings: Lump sum or annual payments?
When someone wins the lottery, they can accept their winnings in a lump sum (all at once) or over 30 annual payments.
According to AARP, the advantages of accepting the lump sum are attractive because the winner can invest a large amount of money at once, leading to larger future dividends. Also, if the winner is dealing with a financial crisis, clearing large amounts of debt becomes much easier.
However, when a winner accepts the lump sum, they subject themselves to a higher tax rate compared to the annual payment option.
“Taxes take a big bite out of your winnings,” AARP said. “According to the USA Mega analysis, the annuity of a $1.13 billion jackpot would pay out $591.7 million after federal income taxes and state taxes, compared to the lump-sum payout of $280.9 million.”
The largest jackpot winner in US history, Edwin Castro, chose the lump sum amount of $997.6 million.