A single ticket sold in New Jersey won the $847 million Powerball jackpot in the Wednesday, November 4, drawing, lottery officials announced Thursday. The ticket matched all five white balls and the red Powerball, ending the latest run of jackpot rollovers.
The winning white-ball numbers were 15, 34, 41, 53 and 56. The red Powerball was 21, and the Power Play multiplier was 2x, according to Powerball’s official announcement.
Winning numbers for the November 4 drawing
The final jackpot rose to $847 million from an earlier estimate of $835 million, according to CNN’s report carried by ABC13. That increase also moved the prize higher in the game’s historical rankings.
Powerball described the jackpot as the ninth-largest in its history. Some early reports called it the tenth-largest, but the official announcement identifies it as ninth. The updated figure is the amount used in this report.
Cash option is $363.1 million before taxes
The winner can choose between an annuitized prize of $847 million and a one-time cash payment of $363.1 million. Both figures are before taxes, Powerball said. The advertised jackpot therefore should not be confused with an immediate cash payout.
Under the annuity option, the winner would receive 30 increasing payments over 29 years. The alternative provides the cash value in a single payment. No payout choice by the winning ticket holder was included in the announcement.
Where was the winning ticket sold?
The winning ticket was sold in New Jersey. The specific retailer was not immediately known in NorthJersey.com’s initial report. That report did not identify the ticket holder.
A winning ticket being confirmed is not the same as a named person publicly claiming the prize. The information available establishes the ticket’s state of sale and its matching numbers, not the winner’s identity or their plans for the money.
Jackpot resets for Saturday
With the top prize won, the jackpot resets to $20 million for Saturday’s drawing, according to Fox Business. Powerball drawings take place on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
The latest win comes less than three months after a ticket in Illinois won a $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot on August 12, according to the lottery’s official announcement. Wednesday’s prize was the second-largest Powerball jackpot of the year, CNN reported.
What other players should check
Players checking Wednesday’s tickets should compare them with the November 4 results, rather than earlier drawings or preliminary jackpot estimates. The five white-ball numbers and the red Powerball are separate parts of the result; the 2x Power Play figure is the multiplier, not an additional winning number.
CNN reported that there were no winners of the $1 million Match 5 prize or the $2 million Match 5 prize with Power Play. Those categories are distinct from the jackpot, which requires matching all six drawn numbers.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are approximately one in 292.2 million, Fox Business reported. The size of the advertised prize does not make a ticket more likely to match the winning combination. Players should use official lottery results to verify tickets and follow the relevant state lottery’s instructions for any prize claim.
