An electronic sign reads $1.8 billion as crowds wait in line to buy lottery tickets at the Bluebird Liquor store in Hawthorne, Calif., on Friday. AP

DES MOINES, Iowa — Powerball players in Missouri and Texas won the nearly $1.8 billion jackpot on Saturday, overcoming astronomical odds to end the lottery game’s three-month drought without a big winner.

The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, and 62, with the Powerball number being 17.

The winning ticket in Texas was sold at a gas station-convenience store in Fredericksburg, according to the Texas Lottery.

The $1.787 billion prize, which was the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot in history, followed 41 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers. The last drawing with a jackpot winner happened May 31.

Powerball’

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