California Powerball Player Wins $527 Million Jackpot in Stunning Draw

LOS ANGELES, California – A lottery player in California won the estimated $527 million Powerball jackpot Saturday night, marking only the second time the game’s largest prize was awarded in 2025. The winning numbers drawn were 7, 11, 21, 53, 61, and the red Powerball of 2.

The identity of the fortunate winner remains unknown, but they face a choice between receiving the jackpot over 30 annual payments or opting for a one-time lump sum of $243.8 million. For those hoping to strike it rich, the odds of winning the grand prize stood at a staggering 1 in 292,201,338.

This recent win is particularly significant as it follows a long wait for a jackpot. The last time Powerball awarded such a large prize was on January 18, 2025, when Abbas Shafii of Beaverton, Oregon, matched all six numbers to win a $328.5 million drawing.

Shafii, 79, chose a lump sum payout of $146.4 million, expressing his joy and plans for the winnings. “I am overjoyed to have won the Powerball and plan to use my prize to travel, invest and share my good fortune with non-profit organizations that are close to my heart,” Shafii said after his victory.

The year 2024 saw a record nine jackpot-winning tickets sold, the most since 2018, beginning with a win in Michigan on New Year’s Day. Among these winners was a 46-year-old Laos native from Portland who claimed the fourth-largest prize in Powerball’s history on April 6, 2024, opting for a split lump sum of $425.2 million with his wife and a friend.

California’s Edwin Castro continues to hold the record for the largest Powerball win, taking home $2.04 billion on November 7, 2022, and choosing the $997.6 million payout.