The three winners overcame odds of 1 in 292.2 million to land on the winning numbers, 4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10. More winners could still be revealed early Thursday.
Florida Lottery reports there are also 11 $1 million winners and one $2 million winner. The Florida jackpot winner will share the $1,586,400,000 prize with winners in CA and TN, the lottery says.
World record $1.5B #POWERBALL draw produced a Florida jackpot winner! Plus, we had 11 $1M winners & a $2M winner. 13 new FL millionaires!
— Florida Lottery (@floridalottery) January 14, 2016
No details were immediately available about the Florida and Tennessee winners and none of the winners’ identities has been revealed, but the California ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, California lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told The Associated Press.
The store and its surrounding strip mall immediately became a wildly popular gathering spot in the usually quiet Los Angeles suburb of 75,000 people. TV footage showed hundreds of people, from news crews to gawkers, crowded the store and spilled into its parking lot.
They cheered and mugged for TV cameras as if it were New Year’s Eve or a sporting event. Many chanted, “Chino Hills! Chino Hills!” in celebration of the city. Some took selfies with the store clerk on duty. The 7-Eleven will get a $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket, Traverso said.
what a time to be alive @7eleven #ChinoHills #lottery pic.twitter.com/pjhu6UdsSL
— AMANWON (@amanwon) January 14, 2016
Revelers celebrate at 7-Eleven where $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot winning ticket sold https://t.co/lGimxMqT72 https://t.co/KJOXwJAU5O
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) January 14, 2016
Winners have to pay 39.6 percent of the prize in federal income taxes, in addition to any state taxes.
Estimated jackpot amounts, which are released daily, have been steadily rising since Nov. 4, when the jackpot was reset at $40 million.
Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
But residents in the six states that don’t participate found ways to get their hands on tickets. Some of the biggest Powerball sales have come from cities bordering states that don’t sell the tickets, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. The association oversees the Powerball Lottery, but management rotates annually among member states.