$198 Million Powerball Jackpot Claimed After Three Weeks
A Powerball jackpot of $198 million has been claimed in Tennessee, by an anonymous player who used a trust to protect their identity. The claim ends 19 days of speculation, as the prize went unclaimed since the July 13th draw in which it was won.
The winning numbers for the July 13th Powerball draw were 13, 23, 32, 35 and 68, with a Powerball of 21. The Power Play multiplier was 3x. There were over 670,000 winners countrywide, but only one ticket-holder matched all five main numbers and the Powerball to win the entirety of the first division prize. The next-highest prize amount won in Tennessee was $100, won by 23 people who matched either four main numbers or three numbers and the Powerball.
Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in Sumner County
The Powerball jackpot-winning ticket was sold by a store in Hendersonville, Sumner County. Worsham’s Market has been owned and operated by the Worsham family for 118 years; they received a commission bonus of $50,000 for selling the ticket. Bobby Worsham, third-generation proprietor, said the store’s telephone had been “blowing up” with calls about the winning ticket, and enquiries about the identity of the mystery winner.
The identity of the Powerball jackpot winner, however, remains unknown. The prize was collected from Tennessee’s lottery headquarters in Nashville on Thursday August 1st, by an entity called The Freedom Trust. Though there is no law allowing lottery winners to remain anonymous in Tennessee, there is a law which allows them to set up a trust which collects winnings on their behalf, protecting their identity in the process. The Freedom Trust collected the prize as a lump sum, leaving with $128.1 million before tax.
Seventh Powerball Jackpot to be Won in Tennessee
The $198 million prize is the seventh Powerball jackpot, and the 83rd prize over $1 million, to be won in the Volunteer State since Powerball began operating there in 2004. In January 2016, one third of the world record $1.58 billion Powerball prize was won by Munford couple John and Lisa Robinson, who opted for a lump sum worth $328 million. Their win earned them a $6.2 million property, their own private lake and an appearance on the Today Show.
Tennessee is also home to one of Powerball’s more eccentric lottery winners – actor and former Episcopal monk Roy Cockrum, whose 2014 jackpot of $259 million went towards the formation of the Roy Cockrum Foundation, an organisation to support not-for-profit theaters across the country.
Page Last Updated: 8/2/2019 6:31:29 AM ET