It started inside a supermarket. Somewhere between the produce aisle and the checkout at a Wegmans Food Market on Farm View in Montvale, New Jersey, a single US Powerball ticket was printed that would go on to match all six numbers in the Wednesday, November 4, 2026 drawing — and turn into an US$847 million jackpot. Powerball here is the United States multi-state game run by MUSL (Multi-State Lottery Association); it shares a name with three unrelated games in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, so this win belongs firmly to the US game and no other.
How one Montvale ticket matched all six
The numbers that night were 15, 34, 41, 53, 56, with the red Powerball 21. One ticket, bought at that Montvale store in Bergen County, caught every one of them. The New Jersey Lottery says the retailer, Wegmans Food Market at 100 Farm View, earns a US$30,000 bonus for selling it — a detail the operator publishes about the store, not the player.
The winner, for now, stays anonymous. What the operator has confirmed is the choice ahead of them: take the full US$847 million as an annuity paid over 29 years, or a single lump-sum cash payment of US$363.1 million. The Powerball Product Group framed the moment plainly. "Back-to-back jackpot runs resulting in prizes of this magnitude are a testament to the excitement Powerball generates," said Stephen Durrell, Chair of the Powerball Product Group and Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery, in the official announcement.
Whichever path the winner chooses, the money does not land untouched. US lottery winnings are taxable — federal withholding applies, and most states tax prizes too — so the figure a winner keeps is lower than the headline, and the annuity-versus-lump-sum decision is exactly the kind of choice where that matters. That is general information, not advice; the sensible next call for anyone in that position is the IRS and a tax professional, not a blog.
By the operator's own count, this is the ninth-largest prize in Powerball history. You can see the full results for that night's draw on the November 4 Powerball draw page, or follow the game from the US Powerball hub.
What stays with you about a story like this is the ordinariness of the setting. No ceremony, no lightning bolt — just a routine stop at a grocery store that happened to end differently. It is worth holding onto the other half of that picture, too: a top Powerball prize is a genuine long shot, every draw is random and independent, and no past result, pattern, or "lucky store" changes the odds of the next one. That is what makes a win like this rare enough to make the news in the first place.
Play for fun, within a budget you set in advance. If gambling ever stops feeling like entertainment, free and confidential help is available around the clock from the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET.
Always confirm winning numbers, prize amounts, and deadlines with the official operator before acting on a ticket — the operator's published results are the only ones that count.
Sources
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Powerball (MUSL), November 5, 2026 — Single Ticket Wins $847 Million Powerball Jackpot in New Jersey
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New Jersey Lottery, November 5, 2026 — Jackpot-winning Powerball ticket sold at Montvale Wegmans
