Two winners share in $525m lotto prize

Two people had winning tickets in America's $US550 million ($525.5m) Powerball jackpot, beating the one-in-175 million odds for the second largest lottery in US history.

Powerball's website crashed shortly after the winning numbers - 5, 23, 16, 22, 29, with Powerball 6 - were announced, as did that of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball.

Lottery fever in the lead-up to the draw was such that 160,000 tickets per minute were being sold, according to media reports.

The Powerball website said players in Arizona and Missouri had the winning numbers, without providing further information. It was not yet clear if anyone had come forward to claim the prize.

Lottery winnings in the US are subject to taxation, with winners typically getting a choice between an annuity spread over many years or a reduced amount paid out in a lump sum

Winning numbers, selected every Wednesday and Saturday, are made up of five out of 59 white balls plus one out of 35 red "Powerballs" from which the game gets its name.

The odds of winning stood at one in 175.2 million - compared to the one-in-a-million chance of being struck by lightning in a given year

Winner Details

The lucky winners of half of the record $587.5 million Powerball jackpot have been identified as Mark and Cindy Hill of Dearborn, Mo., their working-class lives suddenly taking a turn to the financial stratosphere.
Cindy Hill, who with her husband has three adult sons and a 6-year-old daughter adopted from China, purchased the ticket at a Trex Mart gas station in Dearborn.
The Hills won $293,750,000 before taxes. But they will take it in a lump sum of about $193 million rather than the larger amount over 30 years.

Matthew Good named as second winner for Powerball prize

Matthew Good has chosen to receive a single payout of $192m (£119m) to avoid a possible tax rise in 2013