DES MOINES, IA — (CNN) The $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot — the largest lottery prize in history — will be split at least three ways.
One winning ticket was sold in Chino Hills, California, and another in Munford, Tennessee, according to state lottery officials. The third was sold in Florida, although the exact location was not immediately known.
The winning numbers were 08, 27, 34, 04 and 19, and the Powerball was 10.
The odds of winning the record jackpot were 1 in 292 million.
Leading into Wednesday, there had been 19 consecutive Powerball drawings with no winner. As ticket sales soared, so did the jackpot’s value. Two weeks ago the grand prize was a mere $400 million.
The prize money will be split evenly among the ticket holders, each of whom will face a massive tax bill. The winners will be able to select payments made over 30 years, or take a smaller, up-front lump sum.
Balbir Atwal, owner of the 7-Eleven franchise in Chino Hills that sold one winning ticket, said it was “very exciting.”
“I didn’t expect this big crowd but my Chino Hills customers love me, and I love them,” he said. Atwal, who has owned the store for 24 years, will receive a $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Lottery officials and experts recommend winners assemble a team of financial experts before claiming the prize.
They also say winners should try to stay anonymous. There are a few states that don’t release the names of lottery winners. Otherwise, a winner could create a trust that can claim the prize to stay under the radar.
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