Essex County ticket hits $1 million as Powerball jackpot surges to $1 billion
TRENTON, NJ — A Bloomfield lottery player came painfully close to becoming a billionaire, matching all five white balls in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing to secure a $1 million prize — just one number shy of the record-approaching jackpot now swelling to $1 billion.
The winning ticket, purchased at Krauser’s Food & Liquor on Broad Street in Bloomfield, matched numbers 10, 16, 29, 33, and 69. Only the red Power Ball, which was 22, kept the lucky player from claiming the entire jackpot, which carries a cash value of $461.3 million heading into Saturday’s drawing.
Another Garden State player in Somerset also scored big — though not as dramatically — nabbing a $50,000 prize with a ticket sold at Main Street Food & Liquor in South Bound Brook.
New Jersey players have been consistently hitting substantial prizes since the current jackpot cycle began after the $1.8 billion split win in Missouri and Texas on September 6. In total, 34 players in New Jersey have secured prizes of at least $50,000 in this run alone. That includes one $2 million winner, four $1 million winners, and three $100,000 winners.
Powerball jackpots crossing the billion-dollar mark have become increasingly frequent. In fact, six of the top 10 all-time largest Powerball jackpots have been hit in the last three years. This includes the ongoing run, which now ranks as the seventh-largest jackpot in the game’s history.
In Wednesday’s Double Play drawing — an optional add-on that gives players another chance to win up to $10 million — nine tickets sold in New Jersey matched four white balls to win $500, and five tickets matched three white balls plus the Double Play ball to also win $500. The Double Play numbers were 13, 15, 51, 67, 68, and the Power Ball was 08.
Since its founding in 1970, the New Jersey Lottery has contributed over $34.7 billion to the state, with current profits going toward public employee pensions under a 30-year agreement signed in 2017.
With no grand prize winner in Wednesday’s drawing, Saturday’s Powerball jackpot now offers players another shot at reaching billionaire status.
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Key Points
- A $1 million winning Powerball ticket was sold in Bloomfield, NJ, just one number shy of the $1 billion jackpot
- A $50,000 prize was also won in Somerset; both tickets were sold at local liquor stores
- Saturday’s Powerball jackpot now stands at $1 billion, with a cash option of $461.3 million
