The holder of a Powerball ticket from the Jan. 25 drawing sold at Berks County, may have won a $200,000 prize two weeks ago but now, the same ticket is worth $1 million. A wonderful difference compared to the old lottery weekly growth in the total amount of the prize. National lottery

“We are excited for our first million-dollar winner from the new version of Powerball, which debuted Jan. 15,” said Lottery Executive Director Todd Rucci. “It’s great to see the game changes result in a bigger prize for one of our players.”

The ticket matched all five white balls, 04-19-28-29-47, but not the red Powerball 05, for a $1 million second-tier prize.

In this case, the retailer, located at Turkey Hill, 320 N. Furnace St., Birdsboro, Berks County, will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket, a great difference compared to the $500 bonus awarded for the old match-five prize of $200,000.

For now and as always, lottery officials cannot confirm the identity of the winner until the prize is claimed and the ticket is validated.

For the Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball, the winners have one year from the drawing date to claim the prizes.

To ensure and speed the process, the Lottery encourages players to sign the tickets that they buy. In the case of the holder of the winning ticket, signing the back of the ticket, calling the Lottery at 717-702-8146 and filing a claim at Lottery headquarters or at any of Lottery’s seven area offices, is crucial as soon as they check their numbers to be able to start the cashing process.

At headquarters, claims may be filed Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at area offices.

As for the last Saturday, Jan. 28 drawing, the Powerball jackpot grew to an annuity value of $146 million, or $91.4 million cash.

In the 2010-11 fiscal year, in addition to awarding almost $49.5 million in prizes, the Pennsylvania Lottery also contributed almost $28.9 million to programs serving Berks County’s older residents. Lottery numbers

Powerball Game: Players pay $2 and choose five white balls from the first group of 59 numbers plus a single red ball, the Powerball, from a second group of 35 numbers. Players can choose their own numbers using a Powerball playslip, or they may opt for computer-selected quick picks. Players must match all five numbers drawn plus the Powerball number to win the jackpot. There also eight more ways for players to win a cash prize.

The Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery is still the only state lottery that focuses all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents of the area. Since 1971, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed around $21.5 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free transit and reduced-fare shared rides; low-cost prescription drug programs; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state.