Three winning tickets shared a $1.6 billion bonanza in the US Powerball lottery on Wednesday, after millions of people tuned in to see the fate of the world-record jackpot live on TV.

The winning numbers were four, eight, 19, 27 and 34, with a 10 as the so-called Powerball number.

Lottery fever gripped the US, with people forming long lines outside stores to buy tickets and then frantically checking their $2 slips to see if they had hit the mammoth jackpot.

“It’s official! There were 3 jackpot-winning tickets in tonight’s Powerball draw: California, Florida & Tennessee,” California Lottery tweeted.

Local television showed swarms of people, many cheering and chanting, descending on the Los Angeles convenience store where the California ticket was sold.

The jackpot had crept up to nearly $1.59 billion, a record in the US lottery industry.

The three winners will rake in an eye-watering $528.8 million each, NBC News said, although the amount is taxable.