$2 Million Powerball Prize Won in PA; Jackpot Rolls to $400 Million

MIDDLETOWN, Pa., Jan. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Powerball® with Power Play® ticket worth $2 million was sold in Erie County for the Saturday, January 2, drawing before the jackpot rolled to $400 million.

One ticket sold at Country Fair, 1810 Sassafras St., Erie, correctly matched five of the five white balls, 05-06-15-29-42, but not the red Powerball 10, to win $2 million, less applicable tax withholding. It was sold with the $1 Power Play® option, which boosted the prize to $2 million instead of $1 million. The retailer will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Prizes must be claimed and tickets validated before winners can be identified. Powerball winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.

The Lottery encourages the holder of this winning ticket to sign the back of the ticket, call the Lottery at 717-702-8146 and file a claim at any of Lottery's seven area offices or at Lottery headquarters in Middletown, Dauphin County.

Claims may be filed Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at area offices and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at headquarters.

More than 136,800 other Powerball tickets won prizes of various amounts in the January 2 drawing, including more than 26,000 tickets purchased with Power Play that won prizes multiplied by two. Players should check every ticket, every time.

In the 2014-15 fiscal year, the Pennsylvania Lottery awarded more than $49.1 million in prizes in Erie County and contributed more than $30.7 million to programs serving the county's older residents.

The Powerball jackpot rolled to an estimated annuity value of $400 million, or $244 million cash, for the Wednesday, January 6, drawing.

How to play Powerball: Players pay $2 and select five white balls from the first set of 59 numbers plus a single red ball, the Powerball, from a second set of 35 numbers. Players may select their own numbers using a Powerball playslip, or they may opt for computer-selected quick picks. Players must match all five numbers drawn plus the Powerball number to win the jackpot. There also are eight additional ways for players to win a cash prize.

Purchasing the $1 Power Play option allows a winner to increase lower-tier prizes by a factor of 2, 3, 4 or 5, depending on the Power Play number drawn. The jackpot and the Match 5 prize are not multiplied by this number. The Match 5 prize with the Power Play option is set at $2 million. It is $1 million without Power Play.

About the Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception in 1971, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed more than $25.8 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free transit and reduced-fare shared rides; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state.

The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds players to check every ticket, every time. Players must be 18 or older. Please play responsibly. For help with a gambling problem, call 1-800-848-1880.

For drawings results, winning numbers, winners' stories and to subscribe to the Lottery's RSS news feed, visit www.palottery.com. Like us on Facebook at or follow us at www.twitter.com/palottery. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Lottery Public Relations, 717-702-8008

SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery

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