Powerball numbers bring $1 billion jackpot to California winner

State raffle says 'California has a new Powerball billionaire'

A woman holds up Powerball lottery cards at a store in Florida. AFP

A raffle player in California has won the $1 billion Powerball jackpot, the game's organisers said.

“California has a new Powerball BILLIONAIRE!” California State Lottery announced on Twitter.

“One lucky ticket sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles was the only ticket across the country to match all six numbers in the July 19 Powerball draw, winning the $1 Billion Powerball jackpot,” it said.

The billion-dollar jackpot is the biggest prize since November and only the third time the pot has reached the billions, The Washington Post reported.

The winner can choose to take $558.1 million in cash up front, or receive $1.08 billion, broken into yearly payments over 30 years, which increase by 5 per cent annually, the newspaper said.

Most winners choose the lump sum payout.

Wednesday's winner should expect to pay a 37 per cent tax rate on most of the winnings, since the US tax service considers such winnings as ordinary income and the jackpot puts them in the top bracket, according to the newspaper.

Powerball players choose six numbers for five white balls and one red ball, and must match all six to win the jackpot – with odds of 1 in 292.2 million.

The winning numbers on Wednesday were 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24.

“The Golden State luck was in full force as California also sold SEVEN additional tickets that matched 5 numbers missing just the Powerball, winning $448,750 each,” California State Lottery said.

Other winners who matched five numbers bought their tickets in 15 different states.

In November, a single ticket sold in California won an eye-watering $2 billion jackpot.

The next Powerball draw is on Saturday, with the estimated jackpot dipping to $20 million, with a cash value of $10.3 million.