When the lights finally come on in one Connecticut home, one family will be cheering a bit louder than the rest of the block.

Powerball has a winner and the ticket matching all six winning numbers — 12, 14, 34, 39, 46 and 36 — was sold in Connecticut Wednesday night.

The winning ticket is worth $245 million, the largest payout in the state. The winner, however, may not be aware of his or her luck because hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents remain without power five days after last weekend’s snow storm downed power lines. More than 430,000 residents, mostly in the north central portion of the state, are still without power.

The twice-weekly Powerball is played in 33 states and territories. It hasn’t had a top winner since Sept. 14. The lottery’s pot resets to $20 million Saturday.

In January, the game will undergo a few changes including ticket prices rising to $2 and the jackpot doubling to $40 million.

On Wednesday night, 19 tickets matched the first five Powerball numbers. They were sold in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. Those winners will receive $200,000 a piece.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2011/11/245m-powerball-winning-ticket-sold-in-connecticut/