$254 million Powerball ticket sold in Conn.

Several hundred thousand Connecticut residents were still without power Thursday following last weekend's snow storm, but one of them may be holding a Powerball ticket worth $254 million.

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The one ticket with all six winning numbers from Wednesday's drawing was sold at an undisclosed location in Fairfield County, and lottery officials are waiting for the winner to step forward.

The jackpot winner can claim a $254 million annuity paid over 29 years or a lump sum of nearly $152 million in cash.

It is the largest payout in the state's history, and the 12th largest Powerball payout in the 33 states where Powerball is played.

Wednesday's winning Powerball numbers were 12-14-34-39-46, Powerball 36. There were nearly 2.3 million tickets with winning combinations sold nationwide, including about 29,000 in Connecticut.

Players have until April 30, 2012, to claim their prizes.

State officials say the previous record in Connecticut was a $59.5 million Powerball jackpot in June 2005.

The twice-weekly game's jackpot had gone without a top winner since Sept. 14th, growing with each rollover. As a result of Wednesday's, Saturday's jackpot now resets to $20 million.

Starting in mid-January, Powerball is being restructured to make it slightly easier to win, but ticket prices are going to rise from $1 to $2.

Initial jackpots will also start at $40 million, instead of $20 million.

NBC Connecticut and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45149339/ns/us_news-wonderful_world/

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