Powerball player misses $102M jackpot by one number — but still wins big in Vermont
A Powerball player in Vermont narrowly missed a jackpot worth more than $100 million, but they still won the biggest prize of the night.
A Price Chopper grocery store in Rutland sold the ticket, which matched five out of six numbers to win $2 million, the Vermont Lottery announced Jan 18.
The next highest win in the Jan. 17 drawing was $50,000, according to Powerball.
The Vermont winner opted to pay extra for Power Play, which doubled what would have been a $1 million prize. They beat the 1-in-11,688,053.52 odds to match all five white balls, but they missed the red Powerball, which would have won the $102 million jackpot.
People celebrated the win on Facebook, saying “finally” Vermont had a big winner.
“Nice to see a Vermont winner,” a Facebook user wrote.
The Jan. 20 drawing will climb to an estimated jackpot of $120 million.
Rutland is in central Vermont, about 70 miles southwest of Montpelier.
What to know about Powerball
To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Powerball player misses $102M jackpot by one number — but still wins big in Vermont."