Two Lucky Winners to Split $632 Million Powerball Jackpot

“And the winner is…” While it may take days, weeks, or even months to find out exactly who won the Powerball jackpot, lottery officials announced that two winning tickets were sold for the January 5, 2022, drawing – one in California and one in Wisconsin.

After rolling over a whopping 39 times, two lucky winners had all the right numbers, 6-14-25-33-46 as well as the Powerball of 17. They will split a jackpot of over $632 million. Wednesday night’s Powerball is one for the record books, as it ranks as the seventh-highest jackpot to date. Despite this high ranking, it still falls significantly short of the January 23, 2016’s Powerball, which rose to an astonishing $1.56 billion and was split between three winners from California, Tennessee, and Florida.

According to lottery officials, both winners will have the option of receiving an annuity of $316.3 million to be paid out over the next 30 years, or a cash lump sum of $225.1 billion. Uncle Sam, however, will be ready to take his share. Winners will be subjected to a 24% tax withholding right from the start, but also will instantly be boosted up to the highest tax bracket (37%).

As for state taxes, these winners will face different obligations. Fortunately, the winner from California doesn’t have to worry about state tax, since California does not tax lottery winnings. Wisconsin, on the other hand, does. The Wisconsin winner will have to pay an additional 7.65% in state taxes. While this might not sound like a lot, with earnings this large, it equates to over $17 million. That’s right, at the end of the day, the California winner will go home with $17 million more than the one that bought the ticket in Wisconsin.

While the lives of these two winners are going to change forever, the odds of winning the lottery are next to impossible. Lottery officials may promote the fact that the odds of winning are 1 in 30, but this mostly accounts for $4, $7, and $100 payouts. The odds of winning the actual jackpot are more than 1 in 292.2 million.

Those feeling lucky, however, can buy a $2 Powerball ticket in one of the participating 45 states as well as the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. On the other hand, this money might be better spent growing your investment portfolio.