The big prizes for the Powerball and Mega Millions just keep growing. Tuesday went without a Mega Millions winner, but tonight there is a chance for Powerball players to strike a big payday.

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That big payday amounts to $550 million or a lump-sum payment of $411.4 million. If it hits, it will be the ninth-biggest Powerball jackpot in the game’s 28-year history.

Winning Powerball numbers for Jan. 13

Here are the winning numbers for Wednesday’s Powerball drawing:

Numbers: 4-19-23-25-49
Powerball: 14
Power Play: 2

Two lottery jackpots offering up around $1.3 billion

Now $550 million is big enough in its own right, but it is tough right now to talk about Powerball without talking about Mega Millions and vice versa. With the two lotto draw games each generating some of the biggest prize pools in the history of the game, the interest in one spurs the interest in the other.

The last time the Powerball jackpot hit was on Sept. 16, 2020. The winner of that drawing did hail from New York. They netted a $94.8 million jackpot. It came a day after the last Mega Millions jackpot hit on Sept. 15 for $120 million.

Amazingly, the combined total of the two jackpots still doesn’t eclipse the biggest lottery jackpot in history. That one was actually won on this date four years ago. However, no solo winner took home the nearly $1.6 billion jackpot. Instead three separate winners split the winnings up.

The biggest solo winner in US lottery history was the South Carolina player who won the $1.53 billion Mega Millions jackpot in October 2018.

Odds of winning Powerball

Let’s be clear: Your chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are not great. Players have a whopping one in 292,201,338 chance of matching all five white numbers and the red Powerball.

You might think that because more people are playing, a winner becomes inevitable. Really though, no matter how many people buy tickets, your chance of buying the winner does not change. You can certainly buy more than one ticket to increase the possibility you hit winning numbers, but even that cannot compensate for the fact it is wildly unlikely you will match all the winning numbers.

When lottery jackpots flirt with half a billion dollars, it’s cause for excitement for players. But even smaller prizes can create a buzz, as the employees at a store in New York recently discovered.

A gas station in the Empire State sold a Mega Millions ticket worth a guaranteed $2 million over the weekend. If the winner of that prize — and perhaps any winners of either the current Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots — need to know what to do after striking it rich, the path forward is well-trodden.

Lottery jackpots are way up there, so here’s what you should know

The Mega Millions jackpot is up to $750 million, and Powerball has reached $640million. While the after-tax lump sums would come out to less than half of those amounts, the net jackpots would still be a life-changing amount of money for most people.

One lucky Mega Millions player didn’t fare too poorly in last week’s drawing. The so-far unnamed winner bought the ticket at Love’s Travel Stop in Binghamton. All five numbers on the ticket matched, but the ticket missed on the Mega Ball. The 2x Megaplier boosted the win to $2 million instead of the standard million.

“We were completely amazed,” the store manager said, “and it’s awesome considering our current situation in the economy and we’re, we’re just amazed.”

Amazement is a common reaction for people who win prizes of seven or more figures playing the lottery. However, that’s actually a time when keeping a clear head is pivotal. There is a procedure for claiming prizes, and there are best practices for how to manage the prizes.

How to claim big prizes playing the NY lottery

In New York, there’s a precise protocol for claiming lottery prizes of $601 or more. Essentially, you have two options: either claim your prize via mail, or make an appointment at one of the New York Lottery claim centers.

Last year, wait times for appointments at claim centers were quite long. While that has improved over time, claim centers are still not accepting walk-ins. You must make an appointment at one of the 14 locations to claim your prize in-person.

As noted, wait times for appointments have indeed improved. That said, some locations still require patience from the public. Consider the following claim centers and their earliest available appointments:

• Yonkers: March 20
• Fishkill: Feb. 8
• Islandia: Feb. 3
• Long Island: Feb. 16
• Resorts World: Sundays only until March
• Syracuse: Wednesdays only, starting Feb. 10

Hours at the centers vary by location and services required. Jackpot claims (prizes of $250,000 or more) are only available at the Buffalo, Fishkill, Schenectady and Syracuse offices.

All claim centers require patrons to wear face masks properly while on-site and no more than one person can be on-site at a time. If you prefer to have a representative claim the prize for you, you must notify the center of that when making your appointment.

What to do after initiating your prize claim

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After getting the ball rolling on your claim, there are three people you should hire. Don’t worry about the cost. The services these people provide will more than pay for themselves over time.

• Accountant: Keeping all the ins and outs of different funds and trusts can be complicated. The services of a skilled accountant are more than worth their cost.
• Attorney: Not only will a good lawyer help you protect yourself from people looking to take advantage of you but can help you find ways to save on the taxes you will pay
• Financial advisor: This person can help you find ways to make your prize money grow instead of depleting over time

Slot Jackpot Winners

With these huge lottery jackpots on the line, Mega Millions and Powerball tickets are sure to sell in droves in New York. If you defy the odds to win a substantial prize, you can enjoy the winnings and avoid pitfalls.