Powerball: These stores have sold jackpot winning tickets in Florida

Powerball $1.6 billion jackpot has Central Florida residents hoping to get lucky

Central Florida residents are dreaming big and rushing to stores to get their hands on Powerball tickets for the chance to win the record-breaking $1.6 billion jackpot.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Update: The winning numbers for the record-setting $1.6B Powerball jackpot were drawn Saturday night. They are: 28 45 53 56 69 20

The Powerball jackpot for Saturday night's drawing is up to $1.6 billion, which is now the largest Powerball jackpot ever. While many people dreaming of hitting it big plan out which numbers they'll play, it seems like where you buy your tickets can also impact your chances.

Florida has sold the second-most jackpot-winning tickets (16) just behind Pennsylvania, which has sold 18. The last one was in 2016 when the jackpot was $1.5 billion, a record at the time. That was split between a Florida winner and two other winners from California and Tennessee. The lucky Florida ticket was bought at a Publix in Melbourne Beach.

Just last month, someone in Florida split a $494 million Mega Millions jackpot. The lucky ticket in that case was bought at a 7-Eleven in Fort Myers.

There's a common myth that to increase your chances of being dealt a winning ticket, you should buy from a small, mom-and-pop convenience store. And while yes, you could score a winning ticket from one of those stores, don't count out big name businesses when it comes to where you buy your tickets.

The lottery website Portal Seven lists where all the Powerball jackpot winning tickets have been sold in Florida. Out of the 16 locations listed, 6 of them have been sold at a Publix store.

October 03, 2009: $189 million – Sandlake Chevron Food Mart – 7331 W Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32819
July 10, 2010: $73.9 million – Publix Super Market – 11977 Southern Blvd, Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411
October 06, 2010: $61.5 million – Hess Express – 11002 State Road 64, Bradenton, FL - 34212
February 26, 2011: $184 million – Publix Super Market – 2340 Fortune Road, Kissimmee, FL 34744
December 26, 2012: $50 million – Sweetbay Supermarket – 2139 34th Street N, Saint Petersburg, FL 33713
May 18, 2013: $590.5 million – Publix Super Market – 7838 Gall Boulevard, Zephyrhills, FL 33541
May 25, 2013: $50 million – Carrollwood Market – 4550 West Village Drive, Tampa, FL 33624
April 23, 2014: $150 million – E's Country Store North – 14344 Immokalee Rd, Naples, FL 34120
April 11, 2015: $80 million – State Line Gift Shop – 11208 FL-97, McDavid, FL 32568
June 20, 2015: $80 million – Best Value Food Store – 1040 NW 47th Ave, Plantation, FL 33313
January 13, 2016: $1.58 billion – Publix Super Market – 3830 S Highway A1A, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951
March 02, 2016: $291.4 million – Tom Thumb – 5515 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050
January 29, 2020: $396.9 million – 7-Eleven – 12931 Bonita Beach Rd, Bonita Springs, FL 34135
August 12, 2020: $168.5 million – Publix – 4770 N Congress Ave, Boynton Beach, FL 33426
March 27, 2021: $235.4 million – Publix – 16560 N Nebraska Ave, Lutz, FL 33549
June 05, 2021: $286 million – Circle K – 721 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32221

Of course, no matter where you buy your tickets, your odds of actually winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. Some experts though have some tips on how to choose your numbers and which strategies they say you should avoid. You can find those here.