$625 MILLION: Powerball lottery jackpot soars on rollover

Mar 21, 2019, 7:50 am (61 comments)

Powerball

7th-largest US lottery jackpot in history

By Todd Northrop

After a 24th-consecutive drawing without a winner, the Powerball multi-state lottery game now features a jackpot that will provide multi-generational wealth to the lucky player who eventually wins it all.

After nobody won Wednesday's $562.1 million grand prize, the Powerball jackpot increased to a whopping $625 million for Saturday's drawing — the 7th-largest US lottery jackpot of all time.

But since most winners choose the lump-sum cash option, the $380.6 million cash value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is what might get people buying a few extra tickets.  It's the 8th-largest cash value of any jackpot in US lottery history.

The complete top-25 list of United States lottery jackpot annuity and cash values can be found below.

Players looking to calculate what they would receive after the initial federal and state tax withholdings can find it all pre-calculated for each Powerball jurisdiction on the Jackpot Analysis page at USA Mega, a web site devoted to the Powerball and Mega Millions multi-state lottery games.

Saturday's mega boatload of cash is the result of 24 consecutive draws without a winner.  The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Dec. 29 — it has been nearly 3 months since Powerball last had a winner.

Players looking for a nearby lottery retailer — or that out-of-the-way retailer with a smaller line — are encouraged to use Lottery Places, the only app for iOS, Android, and Windows that can locate the nearest lottery retailers in every jurisdiction that sells Powerball and Mega Millions. The helpful app can locate lottery stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, much of Canada, and the Caribbean.

Michigan lottery players also have the option of bypassing the store completely and buying Powerball lottery tickets online.

Players outside the USA can use a reputable butler service, which provides scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, the lottery ticket service was used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.

Players should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries, and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs. For example, the original estimate for Wednesday's drawing was $550 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $562.1 million.

The winning numbers for Wednesday, March 20, 2019 were 10, 14, 50, 53, and 63, with Powerball number 21.  The Power Play number was 2.

Although nobody won the jackpot Wednesday night, 6 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Florida, 1 from Kentucky, 1 from New Jersey, and 3 from South Carolina.

Two of the tickets sold in South Carolina were purchased with the Power Play option, doubling those prizes to $2 million each. Power Play is available in all jurisdictions except California, where the fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payout regulations.

43 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000.  Of those tickets, 4 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 9 were purchased in California where the prize was $21,672 this drawing.  California prize amounts differ from the rest of the country because the state awards all prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold and the number of tickets that won at each prize level.

A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.

Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $62.9 million from its previous amount of $562.1 million. The cash value was raised by $38.2 million from its previous amount of $342.4 million.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday day night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.

Powerball is played in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time.  Tickets cost $2 each.

Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com).  The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 7th-largest lottery jackpot of all time.  The amount of the jackpot may rise even further by the time the drawing takes place, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates.

  1. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
  2. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 - South Carolina
  3. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
  4. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 - Iowa, New York
  5. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
  6. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
  7. Powerball: $625 million, Mar. 23, 2019 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
  8. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
  9. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
  10. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
  11. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
  12. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
  13. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
  14. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
  15. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
  16. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
  17. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
  18. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
  19. Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
  20. Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
  21. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
  22. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
  23. Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 - New York
  24. Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
  25. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland

For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

  • Powerball: 16
  • Mega Millions: 9

Top 25 cash value jackpots

Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth.

The new Powerball jackpot ranks as the 8th-largest lump-sum cash value jackpot in history.

  1. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
  2. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
  3. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
  4. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
  5. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
  6. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
  7. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
  8. Powerball: $380.6 million cash, Mar. 23, 2019 ($625 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
  9. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
  10. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
  11. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
  12. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
  13. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
  14. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
  15. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
  16. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
  17. Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
  18. Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
  19. Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
  20. Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
  21. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
  22. Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
  23. Mega Millions: $254.6 million cash, Jan. 1, 2019 ($425 million annuity) - New York
  24. Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
  25. Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington

The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

  • Powerball: 15
  • Mega Millions: 10

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

I got this! 

Please keep contributing to the jackpot though!.

Curious if anyone has put together a list only of the powerball jackpot winning #'s that claimed the grand prize $. 

I'm sure there is a pattern...

TheMeatman2005's avatarTheMeatman2005

It would be very nice to hit a jackpot this big.

If I have to, I will settle for second prize with the Powerplay for $2 mil. Yes Nod

Play on! Good luck to all.

music*'s avatarmusic*

Thank You, Todd and the Lottery Post Staff for this Top 25 list. 

 Now the Lottery dreaming begins. Dreaming at night of the winning numbers! Day dreaming brings with it happy thoughts of, "What if ..."

 Is it rare to have 24 consecutive draws without a winner? How much longer must we wait for a winner? This is exciting!! 😁

CDanaT's avatarCDanaT

$380.6 Million Cash...................Have I got some plans for that tidy lil sum Naughty

Rman313's avatarRman313

Hyper That's a lot of hot dogs!

Rman313's avatarRman313

Quote: Originally posted by music* on Mar 21, 2019

Thank You, Todd and the Lottery Post Staff for this Top 25 list. 

 Now the Lottery dreaming begins. Dreaming at night of the winning numbers! Day dreaming brings with it happy thoughts of, "What if ..."

 Is it rare to have 24 consecutive draws without a winner? How much longer must we wait for a winner? This is exciting!! 😁

LOLNow the lottery dreaming begins?!?!? I always dream of winning lottery!! I doesn't matter what the jackpot is!! I know its more than what I have in my bank account! 

TheMeatman2005's avatarTheMeatman2005

Quote: Originally posted by Rman313 on Mar 21, 2019

LOLNow the lottery dreaming begins?!?!? I always dream of winning lottery!! I doesn't matter what the jackpot is!! I know its more than what I have in my bank account! 

I Agree!

Some millions (or thousands) is more than I have now!

I'll take it! I'll take it!

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Here We Go!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Dance

EnReval

I did some time ago but unsure what typed of pattern to lookout for...hummm

Bleudog101

Thanks Todd and staff for posting the lottery hall of fame as I call it.   

Seventh Heaven.

Hope it was a Soldier from Ft. Knox, KY that won the secondary jackpot last night.

noise-gate

l think l will sit this one out.LOL

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

🤞

well heres to hoping ....... may one of us gets that lucky 

Horsegeek40

I Agree!

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

"Is it rare to have 24 consecutive draws without a winner?"

Given the steep odds and slower growth I'm sure it's going to become more common, but so far it has never happened for PB.  The current record for most drawings until somebody won PB is 24. That run started on 5/11/16 and was won on the 24th drawing, when it had grown to $487 million. By comparison the record jackpot was more than 3 times as much when it was won on the 20th drawing, and Mavis Wanczyk won her then record single prize on the 21st drawing. Maybe this run can set a record that PB won't want to publicize if it rolls again on Saturday.

I've had the perception that MM tends to get hit faster than PB, but it holds the record for most drawings before producing a winner. On 3/11/16 MM was still starting at $15 million, and ot kept rolling through 33 drawings before being won on the 34th when it was all of $508 million. The record MM jackpot from last October also made it through 24 drawings without a winner, being hit on the 26th drawing.

Subscribe to this news story