HOUSTON (TIP): The world-record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot will be split three ways after tickets purchased in Florida, Tennessee, and a Los Angeles suburb matched all five of last night’s numbers, including the Powerball.
The winning numbers for the latest drawing are: 8-27-34-4-19 and the Powerball is 10. In Texas, four people are set to become millionaires after they purchased tickets worth at least $1 million matching five of the winning numbers. One of those tickets was sold right here in Houston at a convenience store on Bellaire and Renwick in southwest Houston.
Two other tickets were sold in the Dallas area, and another in San Antonio.
Lottery officials said 85.8 percent of possible number combinations had been selected by midday, increasing the chances that someone would win the world’s largest lottery jackpot. But the odds of winning were still extraordinarily slim, at 1 in 292.2 million.
The winners could get the jackpot in annual payments over 29 years, or opt for a lump-sum payment.
Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. But buying a ticket Wednesday evening wasn’t an easy process for some.
The Texas Lottery Commission says it experienced technical issues at some retail locations, causing extra delay. Some customers say they waited 15 minutes, others more than 30 to get their tickets. A few players say they made more than one stop trying to find a store with a shorter line.