A POWERBALL player has sensationally won the second largest ever jackpot after months of nail-biting rollovers.
The $1.765billion ticket was sold in Frazier Park, California - and matched all six winning numbers.
Wednesday's jackpot, which has a cash value of $774.1 million, comes second only to Edwin Castro's mammoth $2.04billion win in November last year.
The winning numbers in the October 11 drawing were white balls 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and red Powerball 10.
The Power Play® multiplier was 2X.
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According to lotto officials, final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its advertised estimate to $1.765billion at the time of the drawing.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball billionaire and the millions of Powerball players who won other cash prizes in last night’s drawing,” Drew Svitko, Powerball Product Group Chair and Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director said.
“For 31 years, some players who have dreamed about winning a Powerball jackpot have defied the odds, and in doing so, have helped generate critical funding for public services and programs supported by US lotteries.
“If you bought a Powerball ticket during this jackpot run, please know that a portion of that ticket will stay in your home state to make it a better place to live.”
The lucky ticket holder will now have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $1.765billion or a lump sum payment of $774.1million.
If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.
Both prize options are before taxes.
Wednesday's Powerball drawing produced more than 5.3million winning tickets across the US, including seven tickets that matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes.
Two of these were from California, two were from Florida, while the remaining three were from New York, Oklahoma and Virginia.
Another two tickets, sold in Arizona and Pennsylvania, matched all five white balls and increased the $1million prize to $2million by including the prize multiplier feature, Power Play®, for an additional $1 per play.
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There were also 121 tickets that won $50,000 prizes, and 24 tickets that won $100,000 prizes.
Anyone who bought a ticket in these areas is now urged to check their tickets.
The Powerball jackpot was hit in the 36th drawing of the jackpot run, marking the first time that two consecutive Powerball jackpot cycles have produced billion-dollar grand prizes.
It was previously won on July 19, when a ticket in California matched all five white balls and the red Powerball® to win a $1.08billion jackpot.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play.
Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
More than half of all proceeds from the sale of a Powerball ticket remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.
The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Players should note that in California, prize payout amounts are pari-mutuel and determined by sales and the number of winners.
