Two Powerball tickets split 1.787B jackpot in Missouri and Texas

Two winning Powerball tickets sold in Missouri and Texas matched all six numbers on Saturday night, splitting an estimated 1.787 billion and ending a three month stretch without a top prize winner, lottery officials said. The numbers drawn were 11, 23, 44, 61, 62 and the Powerball 17, with a Power Play multiplier of 2.

Powerball officials confirmed the two jackpot tickets were sold in Missouri and Texas. The Texas Lottery said its winning ticket was sold at a gas station convenience store in Fredericksburg. The exact location where the Missouri ticket was sold has not yet been released and the identities of the winners remain private as they begin the claims process.

Each winning ticketholder can choose between an annuitized prize of about 893.5 million, paid as one immediate installment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent, or a lump sum cash option of roughly 410.3 million, both figures before taxes, according to the MultiState Lottery Association. Federal law requires an automatic 24 percent withholding on large prizes, and winners may face an effective federal tax rate as high as 37 percent when filing. State taxes will further reduce the take home...