A Powerball lottery ticket with a whopping jackpot of $731 million was purchased at a corner shop of a former mining town somewhere in Maryland. The person who managed to beat the 1-in-292 million odds of winning a Powerball jackpot is yet to come forward and claim their prize.

Someone in Lonaconing, MD Is Now $731 Million Wealthier

The ticket featuring a winning Powerball combination of numbers was sold at a variety store in Lonaconing – an impoverished former mining town in the northwestern part of the virus-bruised state of Maryland. The unknown buyer of the winning ticket was able to match all six numbers rolled in the Powerball evening draw on Wednesday, January 20, 2021.

The mind-blowing $731.1 million pot is currently the fourth-largest main prize in the 28-year history of US Powerball and the sixth-largest lottery payout ever won in the United States.

Who Struck It Rich?

Powerball did not instantly provide the name of the new-sprung multi-millionaire since Maryland laws allow lottery winners to stay anonymous if they choose to. The person winning the lottery jackpot has at least 182 days to come claim their prize.

According to present knowledge, the winning ticket was purchased by someone at Coney Market, a corner store in Lonaconing that specializes in selling sandwiches, pizza, groceries, soda, and apparently – jackpot-fetching lottery tickets. Lonaconing in Allegany County is a small, hard-luck town with about 1,200 residents, where 25% of the population lives on the breadline.

Richard Ravenscroft, who has owned the store for 6 years now, says everyone around the town is beyond happy for whoever the winner is. The store itself will be awarded a $100,000 thank-you bonus by the Maryland Lottery for vending the lucky ticket.

How Will the Jackpot Pay Out?

When or if the Powerball lottery winner comes forward to collect their prize, he or she will be given two payout options to pick from. They can opt to take the $546.8 million lump sum cash (before tax) or be paid an estimated pre-tax amount of $731.1 million in 30 installments over 29 years.

The same week the Powerball main prize of $731.1 million was finally won, another popular national lottery game – Mega Millions – got closer to securing a record-breaking jackpot. By the time of the next Friday draw, the pool for Mega Millions is expected to have reached a colossal $970 million, thus becoming the second-largest pot the lottery has ever had.

What Can Happen Next?

There is talk that winning a considerable cash prize in a lottery can curse the person and bring them an endless streak of bad luck. We have all heard stories of lottery winners who weren’t able to put their prize money to good use and ended up losing everything. A 1978 study showed that the majority of lottery winners interviewed did not feel much happier, more satisfied, or more hopeful about their future than their neighbors or colleagues.

The reason why the Powerball main prize of $731.1 million got to be so big is that the lottery had gone for 35 drawings without anyone winning the pot. Now, however, it will be rolled down to $20 million for the next draw on Saturday.

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