A Powerball ticket worth more than $2.3 million was sold in California, narrowly missing one of the largest lottery jackpots in US history, lottery officials said.
The ticket, purchased in the coastal city of Oxnard, matched five of six numbers in Saturday night’s drawing, underscoring the soaring anticipation surrounding a Powerball jackpot that has gone unclaimed for weeks.
The near win comes as the Powerball jackpot rises again, now estimated at $1.6 billion for Monday’s drawing, after forty five consecutive drawings without a top prize winner.
According to the California Lottery, the winning ticket was sold at Wright’s Market, a neighborhood grocery store located on Ventura Boulevard in Oxnard.
The ticket holder matched five white ball numbers but missed the Powerball, earning a prize valued at $2,323,527.
Saturday’s winning numbers were four, five, twenty eight, fifty two and sixty nine, with a Powerball of twenty.
Lottery officials said the drawing ranked as the fifth largest in Powerball history and the seventh largest among all US lottery jackpots, including Mega Millions.
The Powerball ticket California win adds to a growing list of high value prizes awarded during the extended jackpot run, even as the top prize continues to elude players nationwide.
Lottery analysts said prolonged jackpot rollovers often fuel increased ticket sales, particularly when prizes cross the billion dollar threshold.
“When jackpots reach this level, participation tends to spike across demographic and geographic lines,” said Daniel Reyes, a lottery economics researcher based in Los Angeles.
“A near miss win like this Powerball ticket California prize reinforces the idea that life changing money is possible, even if the odds remain extremely long.”
Powerball officials said the odds of winning the jackpot stand at one in 292.2 million, while the overall odds of winning any prize are one in 24.9.
The current jackpot run places this drawing among the most significant in US lottery history. Previous Powerball jackpots exceeding $1.5 billion were won in California, Michigan and other states over the past decade.
California, the most populous state, has historically produced a high number of large Powerball and Mega Millions winners, largely due to ticket sales volume.
The latest Powerball ticket California prize continues that trend, lottery data showed.
Officials noted that while jackpot wins are rare, matching five numbers without the Powerball remains one of the most valuable non jackpot outcomes in the game.
At Wright’s Market, employees said news of the winning ticket spread quickly through the neighborhood.
“We’re a small local store, so this kind of thing doesn’t happen every day,” said Maria Gutierrez, a clerk who has worked at the market for eight years.
“People keep coming in asking if we know who bought the ticket, but nobody knows yet.” Local resident Thomas Alvarez said the win has sparked excitement across Oxnard.
“Even knowing it was just one number away from the jackpot makes it feel unreal,” he said. “It gives people hope, even if it’s just for a moment.”
With no jackpot winner yet declared, the Powerball jackpot is expected to climb further if Monday’s drawing also produces no top prize winner.
Lottery officials said increased ticket sales typically accompany such high jackpots, especially in large states like California.
Experts cautioned that while stories like the Powerball ticket California win capture public attention, players should understand the long odds involved.
“The math never changes,” Reyes said. “What changes is the emotional pull when jackpots grow this large.”
The sale of a $2.3 million Powerball ticket in California highlights both the excitement and improbability surrounding one of the nation’s largest ongoing lottery jackpots.
As the Powerball prize rises to an estimated $1.6 billion, lottery officials continue to emphasize the rarity of jackpot wins, even as smaller yet significant prizes are claimed. The next drawing will determine whether the historic streak continues or finally comes to an end.
