Gas station in rural Texas sold a winning $1.8 billion Powerball ticket

Gas Station in Texas Sells Winning Powerball Ticket

Employees at a small gas station in rural Texas were taken aback to find out they sold one of two winning tickets for a staggering $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot over the weekend.

The fortunate ticket was purchased at Bigs gas station, located just off US Highway 290 in Fredericksburg, roughly 75 miles west of Austin, as confirmed by the Texas lottery.

Melanie Carter, the station manager, shared her reaction upon learning the news on a Sunday morning. “You never think, ‘Hey, my store is going to win a jackpot,'” she remarked.

She added, “At first, I said, ‘No way. You don’t know, nobody believes it.’ But as soon as I checked my phone, there it was.” Carter recalled the moment vividly after receiving a text message about the ticket’s success.

Business has been thriving at the gas station recently, as the soaring jackpot attracted plenty of hopeful ticket buyers. But with so many customers coming through, she wasn’t certain who the winner was or which employee had sold the tickets.

The other winning ticket was sold in Missouri. The numbers that won were 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, along with the Red Powerball 17. As for the prize, the winners can choose between receiving $895 million in annuity payments over 29 years or a lump sum of $401.3 million, before taxes, according to Powerball officials.

This marks the 33rd time a Powerball jackpot has been won in Missouri, trailing behind Indiana with 39 wins. Interestingly, this is the third time Texas has had a jackpot winner.

A total of 15 other players won a million-dollar prize by matching all five white balls during the drawing.

These winners hail from places including California (2), Colorado, Florida, Illinois (2), Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York (2), Ohio (2), Oregon, Texas (2), and West Virginia. The unidentified ticket holders will be able to claim their prizes anywhere from 90 days to one year, depending on state regulations.