John Bacon

USA TODAY

One lucky winner in New Jersey is sitting on a lottery ticket worth $430 million dollars, the seventh largest prize in Powerball history.

"The New Jersey Lottery is thrilled to announce that the sole winning ticket of (Saturday night's) Powerball drawing was purchased in the Garden State," the agency crowed Sunday.

Carole Hedinger, New Jersey Lottery executive director, said the ticket was sold in Mercer County, which includes the state capital of Trenton. She said the retail location will be disclosed by Monday, but that the winner — or winners if it was a group — probably would take some time to consult financial planners before coming forward.

“Winning the Powerball jackpot is a life-changing event. Congratulations to the ticketholder and to the retailer who sold it,” she said, adding that the agency "will be anxiously awaiting the phone call" from the winner.

The winning numbers: 05, 25, 26, 44, 66. The Red POWERBALL number was 09.

How lucky was the holder of the winning ticket? The odds of winning were a modest 292 million-to-1.

The jackpot Saturday had climbed to nearly $430 million, making the prize the largest since a record $1.6 billion payout in January. That jackpot, however, was split among three winning tickets.

Lottery spokeswoman Kelly Cripe said Saturday's winner, if electing a one-time cash payout, will receive $284.1 million. Seven winners in new York, Illinois, California and Virginia won $1 million each.

Powerball is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.



