PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The winner of Saturday’s $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot purchased the ticket at the Plaid Pantry at 6060 N.E. Columbia Blvd.
Oregon Lottery says the winning ticket holder came forward on Monday, but they will not announce their name publicly until they complete security measures and vetting.
“This is an unprecedented jackpot win for Oregon Lottery,” said Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells. “We’re taking every precaution to verify the winner before awarding the prize money, which will take time.”
Saturday’s win was the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among U.S. jackpot games.
Plaid Pantry has sold other large Oregon Lottery jackpot prizes, including a $3.3 million Megabucks jackpot last summer.
“Plaid Pantry is thrilled to learn that one of our 104 Oregon stores sold the $1.3 billion dollar Powerball ticket,” said Plaid Pantry President and CEO Jonathan Polonsky. “This store is one of our newest and most loved stores. Proceeds from the Oregon Lottery fund many programs that benefit everyone in the state, and we’ve been a proud partner with the Oregon Lottery since the very beginning. Congratulations to our lucky customer from our over 700 Plaid associates!”
Oregon Lottery says most winners take the cash payout option. In this case, it’s $621 million, but the money gets taxed like income. The feds take 24% and Oregon takes 8%. The net payout is $330 million.
Unlike Oregon, Washington and California do not tax lottery prizes. If the winner had won in either of those states, the net payout would have been $391 million.
But what does Oregon Lottery do with the money from ticket sales?
They return about a third of it to the state.
Here’s a breakdown of where it all goes.
Oregon Lottery Ticket Revenue
- 53% Public schools
- 25.5% Job creation
- 7.5% Oregon State Parks
- 7.5% Oregon’s natural habitats
- 4% Outdoor School
- 1.5% Veteran Services
- 1% Gambling support
The lottery funds that go to schools make up a portion of the state school fund that the Legislature allocates each biennium.
In our area, Portland, Beaverton and Hillsboro school districts have gotten the most from the lottery. Here’s a breakdown of the past five years.
Past Funded Projects
2023
Oregon Teacher of the Year – Oregon Trail School District – $15,000
2022
- Portland Public Schools – $25.1 million
- Beaverton School District – $21.7 million
- Hillsboro School District – $10.4 million
2021
- Portland Public Schools – $21.8 million
- Tigard-Tualatin School District – $18.3 million
- Beaverton School District – $7.6 million
2020
- Portland Public Schools – $20.9 million
- Beaverton School District – $17.7 million
- Hillsboro School District – $8.7 million
2019
- Portland Public Schools – $18.2 million
- Beaverton School District – $15.3 million
- Hillsboro School District – $7.6 million
