US lottery jackpot of $295m has four lucky winners

Four winning tickets were sold in Saturday night's $295 million Powerball lottery, the third largest in US history, according…

Four winning tickets were sold in Saturday night's $295 million Powerball lottery, the third largest in US history, according to lottery officials.

The jackpot created a ticket-buying frenzy in advance of the draw.

Winning tickets were purchased in New Hampshire, Minnesota, Delaware, and Kentucky, officials said yesterday.

Winners will not be known until they come forward with their tickets.

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Undeterred by very long odds, Americans bought record numbers of Powerball tickets in 21 states and Washington, DC on Saturday, hoping to win the jackpot.

Stronger than expected sales in the closing hours before the draw boosted the jackpot to $295 million, just $700,000 short of the second largest US lottery payout in 1998.

Hoards of hopeful buyers from New York, which does not participate in the lottery, forced neighbouring Greenwich, Connecticut, to halt ticket sales for a day on Friday because of crowd control concerns.

Some bars had Powerball parties on Saturday night.

At the Velvet Room in Milwaukee, patrons received a free Powerball ticket at the door and watched the drawing on a big screen television while feasting on hors d'oeuvres.

The record for any US lottery jackpot - $363 million - was won in 2000 in a different multi-state game.

The pot on this latest lottery has grown so large because twice weekly drawings failed to produce a winner in 18 tries.

Federal taxes on the winnings would most likely amount to 39.6 per cent. State taxes vary, with some states having none at all, others sizable amounts.

Powerball, which carries 80 million to one odds of a single winner, operates in 21 states and Washington, DC.

To win, players must match six numbers - five from 1 to 49 and a sixth single Powerball number from 1 to 42.