Billion-dollar Powerball lottery winner finally found

Jackpot! A single ticket in California has reportedly won the $1 billion Powerball lottery after weeks of frenzied ticket-buying.

A single ticket has won the $1 billion Powerball. Picture: Giorgio Viera / AFP.

A single ticket in California has reportedly won the $1 billion Powerball lottery after weeks of frenzied ticket-buying.

Powerball passed the estimated $1 billion jackpot mark for just the third time in its 30-year history on Monday, but no winner came through in the draw.

The jackpot was last won on April 19 and increases every time someone fails to take out the top prize. After 38 consecutive draws without a winner, punters were frantic in their rush to enter the draw.

By the time the latest drawing occurred on Wednesday night, the jackpot had climbed to a staggering $1.08 billion (A$1.59 billion) — and this time, a single lucky ticket cleaned up the lot.

A woman holds Powerball lottery tickets inside a store in Florida. The $1 billion jackpot was won by a single ticket holder on Thursday. Picture: Giorgio Viera / AFP.

The winning ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles, according to California Lottery’s website.

Californian law requires the winner’s full name to be made public, but it hasn’t yet been released.

The anonymous winner has the choice between annual payments over 30 years, which increase by five per cent each year, or a lump-sum payment. If they opt for the lump sum, they will take home an eye-watering $558.1 million (A$823 million) pre-tax.

It is the third-largest jackpot in Powerball history.

Months of consecutive drawings with no winner saw the jackpot climb sky-high. Picture: Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

The numbers in Wednesday’s draw were 7-10-11-13-24 with a Powerball of 24.

There were also three $2 million (A$2.9 million) winning tickets sold in Florida, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island respectively, as well as several $1 million (A$1.5 million) winning tickets sold across 16 US states.

The jackpot has now been reset to $20 million (A$29.4 million), according to the Powerball website.

It comes after fellow Californian Edwin Castro became the richest winner in Powerball history after cleaning up a staggering US$2 billion (A$3 billion), making him an overnight billionaire.

“This has turned into a historic jackpot run. This is only the third time in Powerball’s 31-year history that a jackpot has reached the billion-dollar threshold,” said Drew Svitko, Powerball product group chair and Pennsylvania Lottery executive director.

“It only takes one ticket to win this massive jackpot or any of Powerball’s other cash prizes. If you win the jackpot, sign your ticket, put it somewhere very safe, and reach out to your local lottery.”

The game’s rules changed in 2015 to make it less likely that someone will win the jackpot but more likely that someone will win a prize, according to local outlet NBC.

Prior to the change, the odds of winning the jackpot were one in 175 million. Now, the odds are one in 292 million.