3rd-largest lottery jackpot in world history
By Todd Northrop
Last night, the multi-state Powerball lottery game produced no top winner for the 39th consecutive drawing, prompting lottery officials to raise the game's jackpot to a near-record $1.5 billion.
A winner who chooses the cash option would receive a lump-sum $745.9 million — three-quarters of a billion dollars in cash!
It's the stuff that a lottery player's dreams are made of — holding a lottery ticket for an upcoming Powerball drawing with the potential to transform your life in every way.
Do you choose the annuity, which has an initial payment of $22 million and increases the payment every year until the final payment of $92 million in the 29th year, or do you opt for the lump-sum cash payment of $745.9 million all at once?
You can weight the tax consequences of that choice state-by-state by visiting the Jackpot Analysis page at USA Mega, a web site devoted to the Powerball and Mega Millions multi-state lottery games. The feature calculates both the initial withholdings and the final tax burden due at the end of the year, and even can show taxes calculated for different IRS filing statuses.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever awarded was on January 13, 2016, when three tickets from California, Florida, and Tennessee shared a $1.6 billion grand prize. The Florida and Tennessee winners claimed their prizes quickly, but the California winner waited about six months to claim their share.
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.
Some states offer direct online sales, allowing players to bypass the store and purchase tickets from home. States that offer this ability include Colorado (Mega Millions and Powerball), Michigan (Mega Millions and Powerball), Minnesota (Mega Millions and Powerball), Oregon (Mega Millions and Powerball), Texas (Mega Millions and Powerball), and Virginia (Mega Millions and Powerball). Note that some of these links will only work properly for residents of the states mentioned.
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.
The winning numbers for Wednesday, November 2, 2022 were 2, 11, 22, 35, and 60, with Powerball number 23. The Power Play number was 2.
The Wednesday Double Play drawing results were 20, 34, 37, 57, and 67, with Powerball number 26. Double Play is a game option currently available in 14 states that lets you play your numbers in a second drawing for $1 per play, with a chance to win up to $10 million in cash. See How to Play Powerball at USA Mega for more information about Double Play.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Wednesday, 19 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 1 from Arkansas, 2 from California, 1 from Colorado, 2 from Georgia, 2 from Maryland, 1 from Minnesota, 1 from Montana, 3 from New Jersey, 1 from New York, 1 from North Carolina, 1 from Oregon, 1 from Texas, and 1 from Virginia. (The California winners each will claim a prizes of $1,044,212, due to the state's pari-mutuel payout formula.)
3 of the second-prize tickets sold in Arkansas, Montana, and New Jersey were purchased the Power Play option for an extra $1 per play, doubling their prizes to $2 million.
When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, a second-prize win is doubled and any other non-jackpot prize is multplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers, as well as the official drawing videos, can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega. Lottery Post also publishes the complete list of Powerball Prize Payouts and the Powerball Double Play Prize Payouts.
Power Play is not available in California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts. By law, California 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.
Also in the Monday drawing, 238 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 49 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 26 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $20,563 this drawing.
Following the Monday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $252.3 million from its previous amount of $1.2477 billion and the cash value was raised by $125.5 million from its previous amount of $620.4 million.
For information about how these jackpot amounts are calculated, check out the Lottery Post feature video, How are lottery jackpots are calculated?
The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
Powerball is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Mondays, 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 3rd-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. That position may rise before the drawing, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
- Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $1.5 billion, Nov. 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Prelimiary estimate, not won yet
- Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
- Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
- Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $516 million, May 21, 2021 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $502 million, Oct. 14, 2022 (21 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Florida
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $473.1 million, Apr. 27, 2022 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Arizona
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 14
- Mega Millions: 11
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 upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 5th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
- Powerball: $745.9 million cash, Nov. 5, 2022 ($1.5 billion annuity) - Prelimiary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
- Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
- Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
- Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
- Mega Millions: $314.4 million cash, Sep. 21, 2021 ($431 million annuity) - New York
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Mega Millions: 13
- Powerball: 12
Well, haven't seen any line's in ATX but who gonna win the prize
can't believe 19 2nd prize winners
I had 2-22 thatz it
Tix should fly on Saturday night. There will be one winner or can it roll over?
they gots to be kidding right ?!?
i think it will be multi/split winner. there were 19 players who hit 5 numbers
That's the way most people look at it. I'm looking at the 238 4+1 winners. If that 60 was not drawn I think we would have had at least one winner — probably multiple winners.
What % of ticket combinations were sold?
There were approximately 183 million tickets sold with 292,201,338 possible combinations. But, you also have to consider that many people play the same/similar numbers 1-31 because they'll play birth and important dates.
And once again no one will win. Watch this one soar into the tens of billions lol
My top secret numerology shows 511 2nd place winners for the next drawing. 11-5 and reverse it.
Because it's all about the date,
the date
It's all about the date,
no treble.
Looks like it was about 62.5% but that would be if there were no duplicate number combinations played so im sure its a little lower than that
19 is a common number. There is a reason for it.
In my pyramids, I notice the 6 nearest a number and the number is drawn. Will check it out.
You know I love Palindromes!
Good luck Artist 77.
I doubt it, someone may win Saturday or Monday
That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw the results. That number 60 took me by surprise.
I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but we had a Date Match with last night's results. 11/2/22
On the smaller games (state) I always keep track of Date Match. On the mega games I never expect to see it so I wasn't even looking. If only I'd done that I would've had an easy head start.
I won $4 😅...
Puerto Rico sold $4.2 Million in tickets last night. I think that was a record.
I'm shocked no one has won yet! I'm already in the next game. Good luck to all playing on Saturday!
42 is misleading
Not shocked yet
That info was posted last night on twitter by the secretary of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department.
Anyone buying 50 tickets or more for the Sat. draw?
Yes, but only because my state lotto online has a deposit match of $50 to play with $100.
What state?
Previous ash value went from $497.3 m to $620.4 m.. difference $123.1 million.
If 70c of each "line" sold contributes to the jackpot cash vale (We've talked about this before) divide $123.1 m by 0.7
= 175,857,142.9 lines sold.
total number of possible combinations = 1 in 292,201,338 ..
If every line sold was unique (no duplications) then only 60.018% of the possible combinations would have been covered.
There will have been a lot of duplications.. so sort of less than a 1 in 2 chance of it being won.
This draw (Saturday 5th Nov 2022..
estimated cash value increase =$745.9 m less last $620.4 m = $125,500,000
/ $0.7 =179,285,714.3 = only 61.36%..
So, based on the estimates.. Once more less than 1 in 2 chance...
So, I'm not shocked that it hasn't been won yet. :)
A lot of people talk about how many combinations have been sold and other talk about the odds.
No matter what... it comes down to one line that matches the 5+1 numbers drawn.
Some will buy just one $2 ticket while other will spend hundreds.
Either way, you get to dream the same dream of striking it rich.
It all comes down to YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT!
Good luck all.
PA
I don't do social media and there is reasons it was posted. jackie robinson wore 42. learn gematria and you can see right through it.
not worth buying 50 tickets. I might stick to $4.
Wait and see.
Found a $20 on the ground last night when fueling up after work.....so... I made my donation to Saturday nights draw for PB and Lotto America..... I want to personally thank those responsible for this opportunity.
$2QP
$1.6 b now
"What % of ticket combinations were sold? "
Based on 183 million tickets a random distribution would use 46.54% of the possible combinations. The number of 5+0 and 4+1 winners is fairly unlikely (though even the most likely result of 200 4+1 winners is only 2.82%) and almost certainly a result of 3 of the 5 numbers being birthday numbers. We all know that a lot of people play calendar numbers , patterns, and other non-random selections, so the actual number of combinations would have been lower than 46.54% but only the lottery knows exactly how much lower.
It's just the first forecast , and is based on the random distribution that doesn't actually happen, but there's a bunch of info on the TX lottery website. The next jackpot (if there's a rollover) is posted around noon (eastern time) on the day of the drawing, and Friday for the Saturday drawing, here: https://www.texaslottery.com/export/sites/lottery/Games/Powerball/Estimated_Jackpot.html That page includes a link to a worksheet that lists expected sales, jackpot amounts, and the current and cumulative chances of at least one winner (the current chance is the same as the percentage of combinations sold). The URL changes for each date, but for the 11/02 drawing it's https://www.texaslottery.com/export/sites/lottery/Documents/jackpotestimates/pb20221102.pdf
Besides the obvious information I just noticed something else. The chances of a winner are listed for the next few drawings, and working backwards that tells us about how much future jackpots are expected to increase. When I noticed that yesterday I figured the next jackpot was likely to be announced as 1.9 billion, ad that's what happened when they posted it earlier today. That the current jackpot has been bumped up means we're looking at an increase of 350, so if the next one actually increases by 400 we'd be looking at an even 2 billion. Interest rates have changed again, so that's still a bit shy of a new cash record. The new worksheet lists a coverage of 74.8%, which is about 403 million tickets. That works out to a bit over 2.4 billion if it rolls on Monday. It's important to note that the worksheets lag behind actual sales, so that future data is based on the original 1.5 billion announcement for Saturday. They've already locked in the 1.9 billion that will be announced if Saturday rolls, but whatever happens between now and Monday morning will presumably be reflected in the first announcement for next Wednesday (if it rolls, of course).
Heres a Lottery tax calculator website for you in case you win Saturday or in the future. Just click on the state you live in and pick annuity or cash option and type the Lump sum Payment amount in. Good Luck. https://www.taxact.com/lottery-tax-calculator/