Powerball: 4 things to know if you win

Credit: Justin Sullivan

Credit: Justin Sullivan

1:59 a.m. ET June 11: According to The Associated Press, one lucky ticket took the grand prize in Saturday night's $447.8 million drawing. That ticket was sold at Marietta Liquor and Deli in Sun City, California, the California Lottery said in a statement, CNBC reported.

The winning numbers for the massive jackpot – Powerball's seventh-largest – were 20, 26, 32, 38, 58 and Powerball 3, Reuters reported.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Powerball jackpot soared to $435 million after nobody won Wednesday's drawing. But what should you do if the winning numbers match the ones on your card Saturday night?

After the celebrating is over, some sound, careful thought should be given to this newfound wealth, the Fiscal Times reported. Here are four things to keep in mind.

Put the ticket in a safe place

If you're holding the winning ticket, sign it immediately, and then just as quickly put it in a safe place. Losing it would be stressful, as a California man found last year when he lost his ticket and could not claim the $1 million prize.

Don’t go shopping yet

The Fiscal Times advises that it is important not to make reckless spending decisions if you win the Powerball. A suggestion is to put the cash into a savings account or another safe investment where you have easy access. Let the money earn some interest while you decide what to do with it.

Be wary of ‘experts’

Plenty of people will be offering you advice, from well-meaning family members on one end of the spectrum and scam artists on the other. Hiring an expert is a smart move, but be sure the people you hire have experience working with large amounts of cash. The Fiscal Times advises checking out businesses that help people who have recently come into large sums of money.

Don’t forget to pay taxes

The government will be asking for its cut of the bounty. According to lottery site 
USAMega, a single person winning the $435 million jackpot would pay approximately $68 million in taxes if they took the estimated $273.1 million lump-sum cash payout. State taxes also could come in to play.

Saturday's jackpot, the eighth largest in Powerball history, falls just short of the $435.3 million won by a ticket buyer in Indiana in a Feb. 22 drawing, Reuters reported.

The odds of winning Saturday's grand prize are 1 in 292 million.

Powerball's jackpot hit a record $1.6 billion in January 2016, when three winning tickets were sold in Florida, California and Tennessee, Reuters reported.

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