$847 Million Powerball Ticket Sold in New Jersey

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A single Powerball ticket sold in New Jersey matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, winning an advertised $847 million jackpot, the game’s operator said Thursday.

The winning ticket was sold at Wegmans Food Market in Montvale, according to the New Jersey Lottery. The store received a $30,000 retailer bonus Thursday afternoon, WABC reported. Store officials said they planned to donate it to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey through the Check Out Hunger campaign.

The Nov. 4 winning numbers were **15, 34, 41, 53 and 56**, with red Powerball **21**. The Power Play multiplier was **2**. The Powerball announcement lists a cash value of $363.1 million before taxes and describes the advertised jackpot as the ninth largest in the game’s history.

Where was the winning ticket sold?

The New Jersey Lottery identified the retailer as Wegmans at 100 Farm View in Montvale, a borough in Bergen County near the New York state line. WABC reported that the store received the bonus at a Thursday afternoon event. Store manager Nick Tassi said the money would go to its Check Out Hunger campaign.

The $30,000 retailer award is separate from the jackpot owed on the winning ticket. A store receiving a bonus does not identify the person or people who bought the ticket. The Powerball announcement identifies one jackpot-winning ticket, not necessarily the number of people who may share it.

Neither the game operator’s announcement nor the state’s retailer advisory identifies the ticket holder. In New Jersey, a person holding a winning ticket can choose to remain anonymous indefinitely, according to the lottery’s claim-form privacy policy. That option concerns public identification; a claimant still must provide information required for validation and tax reporting.

What is the difference between the jackpot and cash value?

The two widely reported figures refer to different payment structures. The advertised $847 million is the annuitized jackpot, paid over time. Powerball says that option consists of 30 increasing payments over 29 years. The cash value is the amount listed for a single lump-sum payment: $363.1 million before taxes.

An annuity is not an immediate $847 million deposit. It is a schedule of payments that together add up to the advertised amount before taxes. The cash figure is lower because it represents a present lump-sum value rather than the total of payments made across the full period. The eventual amount a winner keeps will depend on taxes and the payment option that applies.

New Jersey’s Powerball instructions tell players to select cash or annuity when purchasing a ticket. The lottery’s frequently asked questions say a ticket purchased with an annuity selection can be changed to cash at the time of claim, while a cash selection cannot be changed to an annuity. The public announcements do not identify which option was selected for the Montvale ticket.

The ticket holder should check the selection printed on the ticket and confirm the available options with the New Jersey Lottery when filing the claim.

How are lottery winnings taxed?

Both advertised payment figures are gross amounts. The Internal Revenue Service’s 2026 withholding guidance says certain gambling winnings, including qualifying lottery prizes above $5,000, are generally subject to federal income-tax withholding at 24%. Withholding is an advance payment toward tax; it is not necessarily the winner’s final federal tax bill.

State taxes and a winner’s personal circumstances can also affect the amount ultimately retained. A person’s residence, other income and the timing of payments can matter. The announced $363.1 million cash value should therefore not be described as an after-tax payout, and applying a single withholding percentage cannot determine the final amount owed.

The IRS uses Form W-2G to report certain gambling winnings and tax withheld. New Jersey’s claim policy says claimants must provide information required for federal reporting, including identification and the prize amount. A lottery winner may need independent tax advice based on the actual claim rather than a general estimate made before the ticket is validated.

How rare is a Powerball jackpot?

Powerball players select five white-ball numbers from 1 through 69 and one red Powerball number from 1 through 26. A jackpot ticket must match all six drawn numbers. The New Jersey Lottery’s prize table lists the jackpot odds as one in 292,201,338 per $2 play.

Other combinations can win smaller prizes. Matching the five white balls without the red Powerball generally produces the game’s second-level prize, while other winning combinations include matches involving fewer white balls and, in several cases, the red Powerball. Players should verify their own tickets against the official drawing and the rules governing the ticket they purchased.

Power Play is an optional add-on in New Jersey that costs an additional $1 per play and can multiply eligible non-jackpot prizes. Wednesday’s multiplier was 2. The add-on does not multiply the jackpot, so the 2 does not double the advertised $847 million top prize.

There is also a separate optional Double Play drawing in participating jurisdictions. Its numbers and prizes are distinct from the main Powerball drawing. A ticket’s purchased options determine which results apply; the main drawing numbers alone do not describe every possible add-on result.

How does this jackpot compare with earlier prizes?

Powerball ranks the $847 million annuity as its ninth-largest jackpot. The game’s list places the $1.04 billion jackpot won in Illinois on Aug. 12, 2026, immediately above it at eighth. The Michigan jackpot advertised at $842.4 million on Jan. 1, 2024, is listed immediately below it.

New Jersey also sold the winning ticket for a $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot on March 26, 2024, AP reported. That was a different lottery game and drawing. The record on Powerball’s published ranking is $2.04 billion, won in California on Nov. 7, 2022. The ranking compares advertised jackpot amounts, not the cash payment after withholding or the amount ultimately received by a particular person. An advertised prize shared by multiple winning tickets is also different from the share payable to one ticket.

The Illinois and New Jersey wins ended successive large jackpot runs less than three months apart, according to Powerball. After a jackpot is won, the game starts a new run. Powerball’s current site lists an estimated $20 million jackpot and $8.6 million cash value for the next drawing on Saturday, Nov. 7; estimates can change with sales and other conditions.

How does a New Jersey winner claim a prize?

The ticket must be presented and validated under the rules of the jurisdiction where it was sold. Powerball says all winning tickets must be redeemed in the jurisdiction of purchase. New Jersey’s winner claim form instructs claimants to sign the ticket and complete the form, with the names and signatures matching.

The lottery says winners of the relevant draw-game prizes generally have one year from the drawing to claim. Its June 2026 winner notice reminds Powerball winners of that deadline. A holder should confirm the precise claim procedures directly with the New Jersey Lottery, particularly for a jackpot rather than a small retailer-paid prize.

The state’s privacy protection does not eliminate the verification process. Its policy says claimants provide required details to the lottery and applicable tax authorities even if they do not authorize public use of their identity. A public press event for a selling store is therefore not evidence that the winner has chosen to appear or disclose a name.

What should players watch for next?

The immediate questions are whether the ticket is presented and validated, which payout election applies and whether the holder chooses to disclose any personal information. The New Jersey Lottery can announce claim developments while respecting its rules on anonymity. The retailer bonus is a separate transaction from the prize claim.

Players checking Wednesday’s tickets should use the official drawing date and numbers rather than a screenshot or an old jackpot estimate. The advertised prize had been estimated lower before the final total reached $847 million, so the amount associated with a news alert may depend on when it was published.

The lottery also warns about fraudulent messages claiming a person has won or must pay a fee to collect a prize. In a state scam advisory, officials say the lottery does not know who possesses a winning ticket until someone comes forward and does not require an advance payment to claim a prize. Anyone receiving such a request should verify it with the lottery through its official channels.

Prepared with AI assistance.

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Photo credits

The video uses an archive photograph of the interior of the Montvale Wegmans from 2017. TMBLover / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped. The adapted image remains under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The article cover, video cover and opening shot use the Powerball billboard in Missouri, August 2017.jpg), Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, cropped with historical figures defocused and headline text added. The video also uses Montvale station, Mitchazenia, CC BY-SA 3.0; Texas Lottery drawing studio, Matt May, CC BY 2.0; currency production, U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, U.S. public domain; and American Cash, Psychonaught with revision by Reworked, public domain. Crops, motion and text were added for the video. ShareAlike adaptations use the same respective licenses. These archive and illustrative photographs do not show the November 2026 drawing or the jackpot proceeds.