Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022 crowned the first Powerball millionaire of 2022 after broadcasting a live draw just after midnight for the third consecutive year.
The annual promotion included 29 participating US lotteries that held drawings and contests throughout 2021 to create a national pool of semi-finalists. From that pool, five finalists were randomly selected, in a preliminary drawing, to advance to the $1m draw.
Participating lottery jurisdictions included Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana (Hoosier), Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virgin Islands, Vermont, and Washington D.C.
Drawn live on-air by Powerball correspondent Jessie James Decker, the first $1m winner of the year was Brian MineweaserThroughout the night, Decker checked in with all five finalists to gauge the atmosphere before finally unveiling Mineweaser as the winner.
“The Powerball game produces hundreds of million-dollar winners every year, but to capture one person’s winning moment as it unfolds on live television at the top of a new year is something spectacular,” said May Scheve Reardon, Powerball Product Group Chair and Missouri Lottery Executive Director. “Powerball and its lottery partners are excited to come back next year to continue this winning tradition.”
