Oregon Powerball Billionaire Promptly Comes Forward, Vetting Process Underway

Just a little more than 24 hours after hitting the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot ever over the weekend, the purported winner came forward Monday to claim the prize, Oregon Lottery officials said.

The jackpot reached $1.326 billion (lump sum cash value: $621 million), and there was exactly one ticket sold that matched all six numbers drawn.

But there’s still a little way to go before the winner can be confirmed and their name revealed.

“This is an unprecedented jackpot win for Oregon Lottery,” said Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells. “We’re taking every precaution to verify the winner before awarding the prize money, which will take time.”

The Oregon Lottery press release states, “The process involves security measures and vetting that will take time before a winner can be announced.”

Plaid about you

The winning ticket was sold last Friday at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland. There are 106 Plaid Pantry locations, all located in Oregon and Washington, and this is not the first time one of them sold a sizable winning ticket. Another Plaid Pantry sold a Megabucks ticket worth $3.3 million last summer.

Plaid Pantry President and CEO Jonathan Polonsky said the Portland store that sold the Powerball winner “is one of our newest and most loved stores.”

“Congratulations,” Polonsky added, “to our lucky customer from our over 700 Plaid associates!”

Congratulations go out to Plaid Pantry as well, as the Portland store on NE Columbia Blvd. will receive a $100,000 bonus for selling the big winner.

More modest jackpot amounts this week

The next Powerball drawing, for a mere $20 million grand prize, took place Monday, and there were no jackpot winners — nor even any million-dollar winners for matching the five white balls.

After an estimated 90 million tickets were purchased for Saturday’s massive draw, Lottery Geeks estimates about 7.5 million were sold for Monday.

The jackpot for the next Powerball drawing, on Wednesday, increases to an estimated $31 million. For Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, the estimated jackpot is $97 million.

All-Time Biggest Jackpots

Here’s the updated all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots, following this past weekend’s score:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey
10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $558.1 million, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California