Powerball Winners of $1.787 Billion Jackpot Likely Won’t Ever Be Known

It's unlikely that the winners of the Powerball jackpot on Saturday, September 6 will ever be recognized, at least not in public.

Powerball provided two transformative lottery winners last weekend.  On the 42nd draw, two plays matched all six selected numbers to split a $1.787 billion prize after 41 drawings without a ticket matching the red Powerball and five white balls.

The numbers 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, and 17 were the winning ones.  Missouri and Texas sold the two tickets that beat the odds of 1 in over 292.2 million.  The winners can choose to get a one-time cash payout or the full value of their reward, which will be paid out over 29 years, within 180 days of September 6.

Given that two tickets were successful, the winners can choose to receive an annuity payment of $893.5 million or $410.3 million in cash right away.  Both are before to 37% federal taxes.

The Texas winner enjoys a little extra luck because the Lone Star State does not tax the Powerball bonanza further because it does not view lottery wins as income.  Missouri's lottery winner isn't that fortunate because the Show-Me State mandates that lottery winners present the government with 4.7% of their winnings.

Exceptions for Anonymous 

The second-biggest prize in US lottery history was the $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot.  Since wise investment has historically been able to outperform the lottery's annuity, which is mostly based on the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate, major lottery winners usually choose the one-time payout.

In Texas, the winner would receive a net payoff of $258.5 million after the $410.3 million cash reward was immediately deducted by $151.8 million in federal taxes.  Following Missouri's $12.15 million decrease, the $258.5 million would be further reduced to $246.35 million.

The fact that respective states permit anonymity is one advantage enjoyed by the owners of both tickets.  Some states permit winners to stay anonymous, but most of the 45 state-run lotteries require winners to consent to their identities being made public. This requirement is meant to uphold the integrity of the lottery and the public's confidence in it.  Among them are Missouri and Texas.

Missouri permits lottery winners to remain anonymous for all reward levels.  In Texas, anonymity is only permitted for winners who are spending $1 million or more in rewards.

Winners must request anonymity when redeeming their prizes in each state.

Where Is Powerball Most Effective? 

Indiana has won the most Powerball jackpots, with 39 total, according to Lottery Post.  The Missouri Powerball jackpot victory on Saturday was the 32nd in the state.  Only three Powerball jackpots had been won in Texas.

Big's gas station in Fredericksburg, Texas, which is in wine country about 75 miles west of Austin, sold the winning ticket on Saturday.  The QuikTrip store located at 12110 Lusher Road in St. Louis is where the Missouri play was bought.

For selling the winning ticket, the QuikTrip store will get a bonus of $50,000.  $250K will be given to the Big's store in Texas.  Retailers' bonuses for selling Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot winners are set by state lotteries.