California lottery player nabs $US1.7 billion jackpot

A player in California has won the world's second-largest lottery prize, ending a months-long stretch without a winner of Powerball's top prize in the United States.

The winning $US1.765 billion ($A2.753 billion) Powerball jackpot ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, according to the California Lottery.

Phone calls on Wednesday night and Thursday morning to Midway Market & Liquor went unanswered.

Frazier Park is an unincorporated mountain community of about 2600 residents.

It is about 120km north of Los Angeles.

"The phone's been ringing off the hook, people saying congratulations. Pretty crazy," the store's night worker, identified only as Duke, told KCAL-TV.

"Somebody owes me a truck," he said with a smile.

"A lot of customers come in, you know they come in every day to get their tickets, religiously. And a lot of them... said: 'Oh, if I win I'm gonna get you a new truck'. So where's my truck? I'll be waiting".

He expected the winner will be a local resident.

Before someone won the giant prize, there had been 35 consecutive drawings without a big winner, stretching back to July 19 when a player in California matched all six numbers and won $US1.08 billion.

The jackpot is the world's second-largest lottery prize after rolling over for 36 consecutive drawings.

That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022.

Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot beyond its earlier advertised estimate of $US1.73 billion for Wednesday night's drawing.

The only top prize that was ever bigger was the $US2.04 billion Powerball won by a player in California last November.

Powerball's terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes becoming ever larger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins.

And wins in recent months have been few and far between.

That did not bother those eager to plunk down their money on Wednesday for a long-shot chance at instant wealth.

Robert Salvato Jr, a 60-year-old electrician, bought 40 Powerball tickets at a hardware store in Billerica, Massachusetts.

"I would take care of family and give my cat that extra leg that she needs and make her a good kitty," said Salvato, who got married on Saturday.

"I could give her a ring on every finger, I guess," Salvato said of his new wife.

Nevada is among the five US states without Powerball, so friends Tamara Carter and Denise Davis drove from Las Vegas across the state line into California to buy tickets.

But the line was so long at their first stop that they gave up and went in search of another store.

"The line was about three hours long," Carter estimated.

"I was waiting for maybe a half hour, and it didn't move."

In most states, a Powerball ticket costs $US2 and players can select their own numbers or leave that task to a computer.

The $US1.765 billion jackpot is for a sole winner who opts for payment through an annuity, doled out over 30 years.

Winners almost always take the cash option, which for Wednesday night's drawing was estimated at $US774.1 million.

Winnings would be subject to federal US taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.

Powerball is played in 45 states as well as Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.