One ticket wins Powerball jackpot

A lucky ticket-buyer in Oregon has won a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot, which was the eighthlargest lottery prize in U.S. history.

Should the winner who matched all six numbers forgo the rarely claimed option of a payout over 30 years, the lump-sum before taxes would be $621 million. Federal and state taxes would cut into the haul significantly, but what’s left over will be more than enough to brighten anyone’s day.

The winner hasn’t been announced or come forward yet.

Although the lucky buyer may have purchased the winning ticket while passing through, it was sold in a northeastern Portland ZIP code that’s dotted with modest homes, the city’s main airport and a golf course.

Lottery winners frequently choose to remain anonymous if allowed, which can help them avoid requests for cash from friends, strangers and creditors.

Oregon has no such law, but it gives winners up to a year to come forward. The state has had five previous Powerball jackpot winners over the years, including two families who shared a $340 million prize in 2005.

Laws for lottery winner anonymity vary widely from state to state. In California, the lottery last month revealed the name of one of the winners of the second-biggest Powerball jackpot - a $1.8 billion prize that was drawn last fall.

The odds of winning a Powerball drawing are 1 in 292 million, and no one had won one since Jan. 1. The 41 consecutive drawings without a winner until Sunday tied the game’s two longest droughts ever, which happened in 2021 and 2022, according to the lottery.

The drawing was supposed to happen Saturday, but it didn’t happen until early Sunday morning due to technical issues.