Powerball payout increases to $1.4 billion

COEUR d’ALENE — The world-record Powerball jackpot continued climbing Monday when lottery officials announced the payout had increased to $1.4 billion.

According to Idaho Lottery spokesman David Workman, Gem State ticket sales are also breaking records.

“We are seeing an increase of 1,490 percent over normal sales,” Workman said Monday afternoon.

If the winning ticket is drawn Wednesday, the winner will have an option to take the annuity payments totaling $1.4 billion over 29 years or take a one-time cash payment of $868 million before taxes.

“We are definitely in uncharted territory now,” said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery director referring to the jackpot increase. “This is an historic event. We want to remind everyone to play responsibly, be patient and considerate while waiting to get your tickets, and enjoy the fun and enthusiasm of this billion-dollar jackpot.”

Workman said taxes on the lump sum amount would be roughly $281,232,000, so the winner would pocket $586,768,000 after taxes.

Workman said if the winner chooses the annuity amount of $1.4 billion, the winner would receive 30 annual payments of roughly $25 million to $100 million a year. He said the payment amounts gradually increase over time and after taxes are paid it would range from $16.9 million to $67.6 million per year.

Spokane attorney Bruce Blohowiak once worked for a company that purchased annuity payments from lottery winners, before the cash option was offered by states.

“It used to be they didn’t offer lump sums,” he said. “So we would purchase those strings of payments.”

Blohowiak said choosing which option makes the most sense depends mostly on the winner’s age.

“If I am beyond midlife, it might make the most sense to take the lump sum,” Blohowiak said.

But, he said, such a large jackpot could make taking the annuity a lot more attractive.

Blohowiak said even if the winner were to die, the payments would continue to be made to his or her beneficiaries.

When asked if he had purchased a lottery ticket, Blohowiak said, “No. I have not, but I probably should.”

Lottery officials say two people who bought tickets in Idaho last week won $50,000 after Saturday’s drawing. Those tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. One ticket was sold in Ada County and the other was sold in Franklin County along the Idaho-Utah border just north of Logan, Utah. Both tickets remain unclaimed.

“We want to remind everyone who played Saturday night to check their tickets for winners,” said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. “Oftentimes players think if there was no jackpot winner, they did not win anything. In fact, Idaho had more than 103,000 winning tickets on Saturday worth $693,518.”

With a jackpot increase on Monday morning to $1.4 billion, the Idaho Lottery continues to encourage players to buy their tickets early for the record-shattering jackpot.

The cut-off time to purchase a ticket in North Idaho is 6:55 p.m. Wednesday.