Two men claim million-dollar prizes from New York Lottery, one from historic July 19 Powerball drawing

Two men visited New York Lottery headquarters to claim million-dollar prizes. One man matched five white balls on the Powerball, and another chose the right scratch-off to make him a millionaire.

Manuel Palaguachi of Hartsdale won $1 million after purchasing his ticket at Central Snack Mart located at 395 Central Ave. in White Plains. He matched the first five numbers in the historic July 19 Powerball drawing where someone from California won the $1.08 billion jackpot prize.

The winning numbers for that evening's drawing were 7, 10, 11, 13, 24; the Powerball number was 24.

After the necessary withholdings were calculated, Palaguachi was given a lump sum of $591,000 as payment.

Manuel Palaguachi of Hartsdale has claimed a $1,000,000 Powerball second prize

Palaguachi claimed his prize on Thursday but wasn't the only one to do so. Abu Alam, from Woodside, New York used $5 to purchase the Bonus World Cashword instant game.

Alam scratched off 10 words on the card and won $1 million. He purchased his ticket at S Grocery in Jackson Heights.

"I felt like the King of Queens when I saw I won the game's top prize," Alam told the New York Lottery.

Abu Alam, from Woodside, New York, used $5 to purchase the Bonus World Cashword

The New York Lottery is the largest and most profitable in North America, according to Lottery officials. It contributed $3.7 billion in fiscal year 2022-2023 to support public K-12 education in New York State.

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What are the odds of winning the Powerball?

It's understandable that some lottery players are enticed by the whopping $70 million jackpot, but it's essential to keep in mind that the chances of winning Powerball's top prize are exceedingly slim.

  • The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million.

  • The overall odds of winning a Powerball prize (across all tiers) are about 1 in 24.9.

To participate in the Powerball game, players can purchase a ticket for $2 per play. The game requires players to choose five numbers from one to 69 for the white balls, and one number from one to 26 for the red Powerball. Alternatively, players can opt to receive random numbers.

In order to win the jackpot, it is necessary to match the numbers for all of the five white balls and the red Powerball.

In addition to the grand prize, Powerball offers eight other ways to win based on the number of matched balls in the non-jackpot tiers.

The non-jackpot prizes offered range from $4 to $1 million. By paying an additional $1, you can choose to participate in "Powerplay" that increases non-jackpot winnings by 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times.