Washington ? Two people had winning tickets in the $550m Powerball jackpot, beating the one in 175 million odds for the second largest lottery in US history, the game?s website said early on Thursday.
Powerball?s website crashed shortly after the winning numbers ? 5, 23, 16, 22, 29, with Powerball 6 ? were announced late on Wednesday, as did that of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball. Lottery fever in the lead-up to the drawing was such that 160 000 tickets per minute were being sold, according to media reports.
The Powerball website said players in Arizona and Missouri had the winning numbers, without providing further information. It was not yet clear if anyone had come forth to claim the prize. Another 8.9 million players won lesser prizes totalling $131m.
Nobody had won the semi-weekly grand prize for Powerball ? available in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands ? since 6 October, swelling the kitty for whoever holds the winning six-number combination.
Source : AP
