
In the midst of the quiet, but no less lively, city of Portland, someone’s weekend was about to change dramatically. On the familiar backdrop of a bustling 7-Eleven store, under the glowing sign of the Oregon Lottery, an unassuming Powerball ticket was purchased on Saturday. Little did the anonymous customer know, their innocent flutter was destined to pocket themselves more than $1.3 billion, marking the end of a winless streak that had meandered on for longer than three seemingly endless months.
By Sunday, it was official. The ticket was solitary in its victory, as it bore the only combination of numbers to successfully match those drawn. Powerball confirmed, in an encapsulating announcement, that the jackpot amount to be claimed was an astronomical $1.326 billion.
Should the winner step forward to claim their fortune as a lump sum, they would be instantly richer by a staggering sum of $621 million. Alternatively, they could opt for an annuity spread out over three decades, with the assurance of an immediate payout that would be followed by 29 yearly installments. The excitement is, however, moderated by a fair warning. The lump sum is subject to heavy federal taxes, not to mention those additional ones levied by certain states on lottery winnings.
The fortuitous combination drawn was 22, 27, 44, 52, 69, and finally the scarlet Powerball 9. As long as far back as New Year’s Day, no one had hit Powerball’s lucrative mother lode, leading to a total of 41 consecutive drawings without a jackpot victory— a record equalling a twice set precedent in 2021 and 2022.
Although the Oregon Lottery confirmed the winning Powerball ticket was bought in Portland, it stopped short of revealing the exact store where it was sold. The lucky ticket holder has a generous year’s time to come forward and claim their colossal prize.
Mike Wells, the Oregon Lottery Director, was effusive in his congratulations of the winner for their “life-changing moment.” Until now, no one in Oregon has ever clinched such a grand lottery prize, causing a palpable exhilaration among staff and players alike. Interestingly, the $1.326 billion bounty is a leap from the previous record held in Oregon — a hefty $340 million jackpot that was won in 2005 and a $150.4 million prize won by a man from Salem in 2018.
Weighing in as the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history, the $1.326 billion prize has stretched noses skyward as the increasing amounts draw in a larger ticket buying crowd, subsequently making the jackpot harder to snag. The odds for the Saturday drawing were undeniably steep, standing at a daunting 1 in 292.2 million.
Despite the high stakes and the attention that the event was drawing across the entire nation, the drawing was delayed on Saturday night. The venue – Florida Lottery studio – was aflutter until 2:30 a.m. as organizers meticulously completed the required protocols before the drawing at 10:59 p.m. The delay was necessary, according to Powerball, to ensure that every ticket sold nationwide had an equal chance to win, thus necessitating the verification of each ticket against two separate computer systems.
Powerball remains a beloved part of the American culture, enjoyed in 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands alike. For someone in Portland, Oregon, it has just become a billion-dollar memory.