PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island is on a roll after residents here have purchased two consecutive Powerball tickets worth a total of nearly $400 million.
No one has come forward to claim Rhode Island's second Powerball jackpot of $60 million. The winning ticket was sold at Quickets convenience store in Smithfield, state lottery officials announced Thursday.
Choosing the lump sum would give the winner $37 million, and the state would take $2.6 million in taxes.
Earlier this week, 81-year-old Louise White of Newport came forward to claim the $336.4 million Feb. 11 jackpot, which was the sixth-largest U.S. lottery prize.
White said she bought the ticket at a Stop & Shop supermarket in Newport while stopping to purchase rainbow sherbet. White opted to take a lump sum payment of $210 million, the highest ever for Powerball, officials said. The jackpot was the third largest in Powerball history and the largest ever won in Rhode Island.
White's winnings will provide the state with $14.7 million in taxes. With the state facing a $117 million projected deficit, the money will come in handy, according to state Director of Administration Richard Licht.
"We're happy to collect it," he told lawmakers earlier this week. "But it's a one-time thing."
Eight Powerball jackpots have been claimed in Rhode Island since the game began in 1992.
Though uncommon, it's not unheard of for states to see multiple jackpot winners in the same year, according to Chuck Strutt, director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which administers Powerball for the 44 states that sell tickets.
"Back to back, though, that's a rare thing," Strutt said.
Indiana had the longest winning streak, with residents claiming three back-to-back jackpots worth more than $60 million within a single month in 2003.
Pennsylvania has seen the most jackpots in the past decade, with residents winning 13 times.