LINCOLN, Neb. -- One winner matched all the numbers for last Saturday's record $365 million Powerball jackpot, Nebraska lottery officials said, but as of presstime Tuesday, the winner had not officially come forward.
The only ticket matching the winning numbers drawn Saturday night for the multistate lottery was sold at a Whitehead Oil Co.'s U-Stop convenience store in Lincoln, Neb. It was the biggest jackpot on record for any lottery in the United States, said the Associated Press.
Whitehead Oil operates about 14 Phillips 66-branded [image-nocss] U-Stop locations in the state. The store that sold the ticket put up an impromptu sign (pictured) reading: Welcome to U-Stop, home of the largest lottery payout in U.S. history! Locally owned and operated.
Nebraska Lottery spokesperson Brian Rockey said lottery officials went to the store Sunday to verify the sale, which would entitle the store owner to a $50,000 bonus. The store was swarmed with reporters and customers Sunday, said owner Mick Mandl. Everybody wants to talk to us, he said. They're excited.
The winning numbers drawn Saturday were 15, 17, 43, 44 and 48, with a Powerball number of 29, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association of Des Moines, Iowa, which runs the game for the participating states.
The ticket holder has the option of taking the money in one lump sum or installments over 30 years. The cash option is $177.8 million, or $124.46 million after taxes. On the installment plan, the first payment would be $6,507,986 after taxes.
The previous U.S. lottery jackpot record was $363 million for the Big Game, the forerunner of Mega Millions. That was won by two ticket holders in Illinois and Michigan in 2000. Powerball's previous record jackpot, $340 million, was won by an Oregon family in October 2005.
Powerball is played in 28 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, Nebraska Lottery officials said they were still investigating the validity of a claim after receiving a phone call Monday from a man who said he was in Denver and claimed to have the winning Powerball ticket from Saturday night's drawing, according to CBS4denver-TV. He said he had been in Nebraska for a few days and had bought the ticket while passing through Lincoln on Friday.
The man who claimed to have the winning ticket called the store directly and gave enough detail about the situation surrounding the time when the ticket was sold that employees at the U-Stop and lottery officials believed he may be the winner.
Lottery officials attempted to call the man back to get more information but only got his voicemail. The winner, if from out of state, would have to return to Nebraska to collect the jackpot, Tom Johnson, a spokesperson for the Nebraska Lottery, told the news outlet. Johnson said he was waiting for the man to call back to his cell phone.
Officials said they would continue to check surveillance videotape from the U-Stop to see if the man matched the description of the person who bought the winning ticket.
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