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$1.5B Powerball Jackpot Goes To 3 Winners In 3 States

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — An eye-popping and unprecedented Powerball jackpot whose rise to $1.5 billion became a national fascination will be split three ways.

The winners' identities remain a mystery Thursday, but officials say the winning tickets were purchased in a Los Angeles suburb, Florida and in Tennessee.

The winners of the world-record jackpot overcame odds of 1 in 292.2 million to land on the numbers drawn Wednesday night, 4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10. They will split the Powerball prize three ways and can take the winnings in annual payments spread over decades or a smaller amount in a lump sum.

If the jackpot is taken out over 30 years, it will be worth $528.8 million or a one-time payment of $327.8 million.

According to the California Lottery, one of the winning tickets was sold at 7-Eleven in Chino Hills. The convenience store and its surrounding strip mall immediately became a popular gathering spot in the usually quiet suburb of 75,000 people. Hundreds of people, from news crews to gawkers, crowded the store and spilled into its parking lot on Wednesday night.

Some took selfies with the store clerk on duty, who became an instant celebrity and may well have been the man who sold the ticket after being on duty for much of the run-up to Wednesday night's drawing.

In addition to the winning ticket, 12 other tickets -- sold in Nipton, Chula Vista, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Tustin, Pacoima, Vacaville, Cloverdale, Redlands, Gardena and Irwindale --  matched five of six numbers in Tuesday night's drawing. Those tickets are worth $638,146 each.

The 7-Eleven store will receive a $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said.

The winning ticket in Tennessee was sold in Munford, north of Memphis, according to a news release from lottery officials in that state. The winning Florida ticket was sold at a Publix grocery store in Melbourne Beach.

No details were immediately available about the Florida winner.

The estimated jackpot amounts had risen steadily since Nov. 4, when it was reset at $40 million. Texas Lottery executive director Gary Grief has said this Powerball offered "absolutely" the world's biggest jackpot.

Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

But residents in the six states that don't participate found ways to get their hands on tickets. Some of the biggest Powerball sales have come from cities bordering states that don't sell the tickets, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. The association oversees the Powerball Lottery, but management rotates annually among member states.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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