Powerball numbers drawn, as lottery fever spreads into Canada

People stand in line outside of World Class Bakery in Toronto as they wait to get their Powerball lottery ticket for Wednesday night's $1.5 billion jackpot, on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016. (Cole Burston / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Powerball lottery has drawn its numbers for a potential US$1.6 billion windfall, and they are 4, 8, 19, 27, 34, with a Powerball of 10.

The numbers were drawn at 11 p.m. ET Wednesday. Lottery officials said winning tickets were bought at a 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, Calif., as well in Florida and Tennessee.

The store where the winning ticket was sold will receive a $1 million bonus for selling it,  said a spokesman for California's state lottery.

Earlier, Canadians crossed the U.S. border ahead of Wednesday's draw to pick up tickets for the U.S. lottery at nearby gas stations and convenience stores.

At a store near the border in Lewiston, New York, most customers lining up to buy tickets were Canadian.

An American told CTV Toronto that the number of Canadians crossing the border was “crazy,” but didn’t mind because “but we love our Tim Hortons coffee and that’s where it started.”

Those looking to play the lottery without having to cross the border had a few options, too.

Toronto bakery World Class Bakers handed out 500 Powerball tickets on Tuesday to customers who spent a minimum of $20. The giveaway was so successful that the bakery offered the same promotion on Wednesday, this time with 1,000 tickets up for grabs, prompting dozens of shoppers to lineup outside the business as early as 3 a.m.

"These croissants, or whatever they sell, better be dynamite," said one man waiting outside the bakery as temperatures hovered around -7 C.

One woman leaving the bakery with what she called a "$1.5-billion cake," said she felt very positive about her chances of winning.

"You can't dream unless you have a ticket," she told CTV Toronto.

While the crowd in and around the bakery was pretty tame, one man was arrested after smashing the front window of the business with a wooden sandwich board.

Following World Class Bakers' example, downtown Toronto restaurant Tortilla Flats and Fashion Jewellery Outlet in Vaughan, Ont. were also giving away Powerball tickets to their customers.

Meanwhile, Washington lottery officials have said they'll help any potential Canadian Powerball winners collect their prize money, after concerns were raised about a little-known U.S. law that could prevent cross-border players from cashing in on the jackpot.

With files from the Associated Press