Lucky lottery player in California wins huge Powerball jackpot

A player in California has won a 1.765 billion dollar (£1.44 billion) Powerball jackpot, ending a long stretch without a winner of the top prize.

The winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball was 10.

The winning ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, according to the California Lottery.

“The phone’s been ringing off the hook, people saying congratulations. Pretty crazy,” the store’s night worker, identified only as Duke, told KCAL-TV.

“Somebody owes me a truck,” he said with a smile. “A lot of customers come in, you know they come in every day to get their tickets, religiously. And a lot of them… said: ‘Oh, if I win I’m gonna get you a new truck’. So where’s my truck? I’ll be waiting.”

He expected the winner to be a local resident.

Before someone won the giant prize, there had been 35 consecutive drawings without a big winner, stretching back to July 19 when a player in California matched all six numbers and won 1.08 billion US dollars (£877 million).

The jackpot is the world’s second-largest lottery prize after rolling over for 36 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the top prize on July 19.

That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022.

The only top prize that was ever bigger was the 2.04 billion dollar (£1.66 billion) Powerball won by a player in California last November.

Powerball’s terrible odds of one in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes becoming ever larger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins.

Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.