A Central Texas player is waking up a millionaire today - on paper, at least. One of two winning tickets in Saturday night’s record-setting Powerball jackpot, worth nearly $1.8 billion, was sold in Fredericksburg. The other winning ticket was purchased in Missouri.
Each winner can choose between a lump-sum cash payout of about $410 million before taxes or an annuity of roughly $894 million paid out over 30 years.
Texas law gives the Fredericksburg winner a choice beyond just payout: anonymity. Since 2015, state law has allowed winners of $1 million or more to keep their identities secret. That means while the Missouri winner will eventually be made public, the Texas winner may never be known.
Lottery officials confirmed the ticket was sold at a local convenience store but have not disclosed the exact location. In the Hill Country town, known more for its wineries and German heritage festivals than billion-dollar jackpots, word of the win spread quickly.
This marks the largest jackpot ever split in Texas lottery history. Officials remind all players to check their tickets carefully - other non-jackpot prizes, worth millions, were also drawn Saturday.
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