$80 Million Powerball Jackpot Won in Michigan
A Powerball jackpot of $80 million has been won in Michigan by a single ticket-holder. It is the sixth time Powerball has been won in 2019, coming only one two and a half weeks after the last win.
The winning numbers for the Saturday 21 September Powerball draw were 1, 9, 22, 36 and 68, with a Powerball of 22. Over 460,000 tickets won a prize in the draw, though only one, purchased in Michigan, managed to match all five main numbers and the Powerball to clinch the top prize.
Powerball Jackpot in The Great Lakes State
The winning ticket was sold at the Barrels and Barrels Party Store in Sutton’s Bay, MI. It is the first time a multi-state lottery jackpot has been won in Michigan for nearly two years, since a Waterford couple won a one-half share of a $42 million Mega Millions jackpot in October 2017.
It is also the fourth time a Powerball jackpot has been won in the state, since it joined the multi-state lottery in 2010. Michigan’s largest Powerball winner remains Donald Lawson, who won the entirety of a $337 million jackpot in August 2012. He chose to take the jackpot as a lump sum of $224 million.
Annuity or Lump Sum?
The Powerball jackpot can be received in one of two ways. You can opt for an annuity - where you receive the prize in instalments over 30 years – or a lump sum. If you opt for the lump sum, you’ll receive a smaller amount of money than the advertised jackpot. This is because the jackpot size given publically is the value of the annuity, rather than the jackpot’s cash value.
Annuities work by paying you in annual instalments, which are adjusted upward 5% per year to account for inflation and cost of living. Choosing an annuity would guarantee you a steady stream of income, fixed at the current federal tax rate and protected from fluctuations in inflation. However, you cannot access your jackpot aside from the annual payments.
Many Powerball winners choose the lump sum over the annuity, in spite of the comparatively small size. This could be to allow them to really splash out, to gift their extended family or even to expand their wealth on their own terms. With shrewd investment, the jackpot could yield returns that outpace the 5% guaranteed by an annuity – meaning despite the smaller initial jackpot size, you could become even richer than the advertised jackpot!
The Powerball jackpot has reset to $40 million ahead of the next draw on Wednesday 25 September. Tickets to the draw can be purchased from authorised retailers in any of the 44 participating states; alternatively, you can purchase entries online.