Tonight’s Powerball drawing is worth an estimated 500 million dollars. It’s the largest jackpot in Powerball history. South Dakota Lottery Executive Director Norman Lingle says sales of the two-dollar tickets are brisk across the state—he predicts most sales activity in mid-afternoon. Lingle says anyone who wins the jackpot needs to take certain steps before getting the ticket validated.
“Number one, if you have that winning ticket—you need to keep in mind the tickets are bearer instruments. And so, the first thing you should do, even as you make the purchase, is sign the back of the ticket—so there’s no question that you are the owner of that ticket, says Lingle. The next thing to do is make sure you keep that in a safe place; a place where you know it’s going to be safe from any type of things that could happen.”
Lingle says financial counsel and an attorney’s advice are good ideas as well. He says if there is a winner in South Dakota, it will take officials about two weeks to get the funds ready.