Numbers drawn for the $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot, the second-largest lottery prize of all time

A Powerball lottery ticket is on display, Wednesday, October 11, 2023, in Surfside, Florida. After 35 straight drawings without a big winner, Powerball players are lining up to win a near-record jackpot worth an estimated $1.73 billion. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

street. LOUIS (AP) — A California player won a $1.765 billion jackpot on Wednesday night, ending a long stretch without a jackpot winner.

The winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and Powerball 10. The winning ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, according to the California Lottery.

Phone calls Wednesday night and Thursday morning to Midway Market & Liquor were not returned. Fraser Park is an unincorporated mountain community of approximately 2,600 residents. It is located about 75 miles (121 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.

“The phone was ringing, people were saying congratulations. This is so crazy,” the store’s night worker, identified only as Duke, told KCAL-TV.

“Someone owes me a truck,” he said with a smile. “A lot of customers come in, and they come every day to get their tickets, religiously. A lot of them said, ‘Oh, if you win I’ll buy you a new truck.’ So where’s my truck? I’ll be waiting.”

The winner is expected to be a local resident.

Before someone won the giant jackpot, there had been 35 straight drawings without a big winner, dating back to July 19 when a player from California matched all six numbers and won $1.08 billion.

The jackpot is the second largest lottery prize in the world after being rolled over for 36 consecutive drawings. This streak trails the record 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022. Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its previously announced estimate of $1.73 billion for Wednesday night’s drawing.

The only jackpot that was ever larger was the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by a player in California last November.

Powerball’s awesome odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate huge jackpots, with the jackpots becoming ever larger when they roll repeatedly when no one wins. Victories in recent months have been few and far between.

That didn’t bother those eager to spend their money on Wednesday for a long shot at instant wealth.

Robert Salvato Jr., a 60-year-old electrician, bought 40 Powerball tickets at a hardware store in Billerica, Massachusetts.

“I will take care of the family and give my cat the extra leg she needs and make her a good cat,” said Salvato, who got married on Saturday.

“I think I could give her a ring on every finger,” Salvato said of his new wife.

Nevada is among the five states without Powerball, so friends Tamara Carter and Denise Davis drove from Las Vegas across the state line to California to buy tickets. But the line was so long at their first stop that they gave up and went looking for another store.

Carter estimated that “the line was about three hours long.” “I’ve been waiting for about half an hour, and he hasn’t moved.”

The jackpot has grown enormously due to the long drought. The previous winning Powerball ticket, sold on July 19, was worth $1.08 billion after 39 drawings without a jackpot being won.

At the same hardware store where Salvato worked, Kevin Patton seemed to understand the long odds when he bought a ticket.

“I usually only buy it when the jackpot is high,” Patton said. “It seems like it’s been pretty high a lot of times lately. I’ve tried a few times and I haven’t even won a free ticket. But maybe tonight is the night.”

In most states, a Powerball ticket costs $2 and players can choose their own numbers or leave that task to the computer.

The $1.765 billion jackpot is reserved for the sole winner who chooses to pay through annuities, spread out over 30 years. Winners always take the cash option, which in Wednesday night’s drawing was valued at $774.1 million.

Winnings will be subject to federal taxes, and many states also impose taxes on lottery winnings.

Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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Roderick Ngoy from Billerica, Massachusetts, and T. O’Neill from California, near Primm, Nevada, contributed to this report.