PHOENIX (AP) -- A winning ticket for a $188.9 million jackpot in the multi-state Powerball game was sold in Arizona, state lottery officials said Thursday.
The ticket for Wednesday night's drawing was purchased at a QuikTrip convenience store in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, said Tony Bouie, executive director of the Arizona Lottery. So far, nobody has come forward to claim the prize.
"If you know someone who bought a ticket, tell them to check it. If you bought a ticket, check it," Bouie said at a news conference at the lottery's Phoenix office.
The winning ticket matched all six of the numbers drawn. Whoever owns it can choose to receive the prize in 30 annual installments or a lump sum of more than $119 million before taxes. The winner has 180 days from the date of the drawing to come forward before the money goes into an unclaimed prize fund.
Twenty-five percent of the revenue generated by the jackpot goes to the state, Bouie said. The funds support education, economic development, health services and environmental needs.
QuikTrip, meanwhile, will receive a $25,000 commission for selling the winning ticket. Sophie Denton, a clerk at the Glendale location, said it would be a nice boost for her co-workers.
"All the employees get a bonus," she said.
If the winning ticketholder waits until next month to come forward, he or she could stay anonymous temporarily. State lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill earlier this year that shields lottery winners' identities for 90 days after they claim their prizes. But the new law doesn't take effect until July 3.
Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh proposed the bill so winners would have time to get financial advice and make security arrangements. Kavanagh pushed a bill in 2013 that would grant lottery winners anonymity forever, but it didn't pass.
Kavanagh was inspired to focus on the issue after an Arizona man who lived in his district won half of a $587 million Powerball jackpot in November 2012. That man's name was released under state public records laws. Kavanagh argued that releasing the man's name put him and his family at risk.
Winning $188.9 million Powerball ticket sold in Arizona - FOX 13 News