Maryland also home to a $2 million second-tier winner with Power Play
Somebody just made Powerball and Maryland Lottery history!
Check your tickets, Maryland, because a lucky player who purchased a ticket in Allegany County just won the Maryland Lottery’s biggest prize ever, hitting the $731.1 million Powerball jackpot in the Jan. 20, 2021 drawing. The jackpot-winning ticket was sold at Coney Market in Lonaconing. Meanwhile, AC&T #130 in Hagerstown sold a Powerball ticket with Power Play worth $2 million for the same drawing.
The $731.1 million jackpot is the 4th-largest in Powerball jackpot history and the 6th-largest in U.S. lottery history. It is by far the largest prize in the Maryland Lottery’s history, easily outdistancing the $218.6 million share of a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot claimed anonymously by The Three Amigos in the March 30, 2012 drawing. The cash option on the jackpot prize is $546.8 million. Prize amounts are before taxes.
“Congratulations to our winners in the Powerball drawing,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica. “This is a truly exciting day for Maryland as we wait to see who will step forward to claim the jackpot and the $2 million prize!”
The Jan. 20 drawing marks Maryland’s first Powerball win since 2011 and third overall. The previous two Powerball jackpot prizes in the state were $128.8 million in December 2011 (Elkton, Cecil County) and $108.8 million in September 2011 (Abingdon, Harford County).
The state and the retailers are also winners. The jackpot win generates approximately $49 million in Maryland state taxes on the prize (8.95 percent withholding tax for state residents) if the winner takes the lump sum cash option. If the winner takes the annuity option, paid out in 30 installments over 29 years, the state receives 8.95 percent of the payment each year. Annuity payments increase by 5 percent annually.
Coney Market will receive a $100,000 bonus from the Maryland Lottery for selling the jackpot-winning ticket. AC&T will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the second-tier winning ticket with Power Play.
The Powerball jackpot was last hit in the Sept. 16, 2020 drawing in New York. The Jan. 20 drawing was the 36th since then, making this the longest jackpot roll in Powerball history.
Check your tickets for a match with the winning numbers of 40, 53, 60, 68, 69 and Powerball 22. The jackpot winner matched all six numbers. Maryland’s $2 million winner matched the first five numbers, but did not match the Powerball number.
Twelve other players across the country also matched the first five numbers without the Powerball or the Power Play option, winning $1 million second-tier prizes. Those tickets were sold in New Jersey (3), California (2), Georgia (2), Illinois (2), Maine, Michigan and Oregon. (Prizes in California are paid on a pari-mutuel basis and differ from the fixed prize amounts).
Lottery officials encourage the winners to sign the backs of their tickets immediately and put them in safe locations. All Maryland Lottery winners have the right to remain anonymous. Winners typically get 182 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes. However, the Lottery has temporarily extended claiming deadlines due to Maryland’s COVID-19 state of emergency.
The big winners can claim their prizes by mail or in person by appointment at the Lottery headquarters’ Customer Resource Center located at 1800 Washington Blvd. in Baltimore. Winners of smaller prizes can claim them by mail, at Lottery retailers, at casinos or by appointment at Lottery headquarters. Get details on how to claim by mail here, how to schedule an appointment here and how to cash prizes at casinos and Lottery retailers here.
Maryland has had a total of 799,644 winning Powerball tickets sold during the Sept. 19-Jan. 20 jackpot run, with prizes ranging from $4 to the jackpot. Nationally, players have won 14 Match 5 plus Power Play $2 million prizes, 60 Match 5 $1 million prizes and had more than 35.8 million winning tickets across all prize points during this run.
Watch Powerball drawings at 11:22 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays on WBAL TV. Winning numbers are available at mdlottery.com and on your smartphone by downloading the free MD Lottery app. Powerball is offered in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2 each. Odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 292 million to 1. Overall odds of winning any prize are about 25 to 1.
