One winning ticket sold for $754 million Powerball jackpot, in Washington state

Des Moines, Iowa — Someone in Washington state overcame huge odds Monday night to win the $754 million Powerball jackpot, the game’s website says.

The winning numbers were 05, 11, 22, 23, 69 and the Powerball 07.

It was the first Powerball jackpot win since Nov. 19, 2022, in the 34th drawing since.

That winless streak enabled the prize to grow larger and larger until it stood as the fifth-largest Powerball jackpot and ninth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever won.

The $754 million jackpot Monday is for a winner opting for an annuity paid over 29 years. Higher interest rates have enabled annuity payments to increase compared with earlier jackpots, when rates were lower.

But most winners prefer cash, which for Monday night’s drawing was $407 million.

The game’s daunting odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes drawing more players. That strategy certainly has worked recently, as someone in Maine won a $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize in January and a California player hit a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot last November. No one has claimed either of those prizes.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play. They’re sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  

The next Powerball drawing, on Wednesday night, will have a $20 million grand prize.