By Todd Northrop
Lottery players looking to start off 2016 by with a bang might want to consider purchasing a Powerball ticket this week.
For only the third time this year, the multi-state Powerball lottery jackpot has crossed the $300 million level, which traditionally triggers a substantial up-tick in lottery ticket sales.
Wednesday's $300 million jackpot was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night's $255 million grand prize.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $184.2 million — the 21st-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history.
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.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever awarded was on May 18, 2013, when Gloria C. MacKenzie of Zephyrhills, Florida, held the solitary winning ticket for a grand prize worth nearly $600 million (see Winner of record $590.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot announced, Lottery Post, June 5, 2013).
Wednesday's grand prize is the result of 15 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Nov. 7.
The winning numbers for Saturday, December 26, 2015 were 27, 40, 44, 59, and 65, with Powerball number 20. The Power Play number was 2.
In addition to the jackpot remaining intact Saturday night, there were also no second prize winners of $1,000,000. Second prize is won by matching the first five numbers but not the Powerball number.
21 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 1 was purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000.
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.
Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $45 million from its previous amount of $255 million. The cash value was raised by $25.8 million from its previous amount of $158.4 million.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday day night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, any non-jackpot prize is increased according to a fixed prize schedule, which can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.
Powerball is now 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.
Everyone is cursed with "can't win" I expect this to roll to $1,000,000,000!
should be a good win for somebody or an even more curious start for the new year
best of luck every one
When I win it I will follow Will Rogers' advice,"I am more concerned about the return of my money than the return on it." I will invest $50,000,000.00 of the Lump Sum into CDARS. Look at it on CDARS.com
Good Luck to all LP Members and Staff!! Come on and win it.
This is the perfect time to hit it!
Make it happen California.
Dang hearsetrax!
That was perfect!
I would like to split this jackpot with my mother so we can have a nice party. Of course I can share with someone else too and my mother for a three way split $150 million for me and mom and $150 million for someone else.-weshar75
Good luck to everyone!!!!!! It would be a fantastic way to ring in the new year
Make sure you get a notarized statement BEFORE the drawing stating you and your mother have equal shares in the ticket, and each of you have contributed half the cost of the tickets. Else the IRS may be saying what you give your mother is a gift and invoke the EXTREMELY high gift tax rate. This is AFTER it has already been taxed to YOU as income.
weshar75, I have found that when I sleep on an irreversible decision I make a better one the next day.
Good Luck to you and I hope there is a win it for Oregon and yourself.
I agree with realtorJim. You could use legal counsel.
Hearse trax has always been my #1 hater for no good reason.
That was a smart comment too, rolling to $2,000,000,000 wouldn't even shock me with this one.
Billion dollars before February? It's getting pretty exciting!
Well, I'm not sure I follow it in detail, all the way, but something tells me it's a good thing.
I expect Michigan to clean house on this one.
About time somebody from LP won this thing. It is way overdue.
Mr./Ms. Weshar75,
I wish to apply for that opportunity. We'll need to get in touch, if it happens.
On the same note, I make a similar offer to you, in the unlikely event that I win it. But, I offer you .5 million of the prize, should I be the sole winner of this coming Wednesday's Powerball.
And, how I need to win it. Yes, I know, everyone says that, but I really do need it. Lotto has been a consistent focus for me, for a long, long time.
"Groppo"
Can't get excited about Powerball anymore. Terrible odds, $2 ticket price, and poor lower prize payouts make it one of the worst games to play...
It's the same for systems players too since there has only been 23 drawings since the last matrix change. They just play a line or two to just be in the game.
weshar75 - I vote with you and hope you win really soon!
"I would like to split this jackpot with my mother so we can have a nice party."
How big a share, and how old is your mother? At some point in the future she's going to leave an estate, and if it's big enough the IRS is going to get a share of it. That means giving more than a relatively modest amount to parent isn't a good idea from a financial perspective. I'd suggest finding a balance between generosity to parents and the generosity to the IRS that may come with it.
Wooooo!!! Time for a BIG WIN!!!!!
1 Jackpot winner in Baton Rouge La. Book it Dano!
his mother is older than dirt and wouldn't know how to start spending it anyway. the unbridled enthusiasm over powerball jackpots has waned considerably. they ruined it with the expanded matrix and cost.
Donald Lawson in Lapeer. Julie Leach in Three Rivers. The 300+ jackpots love Michigan.
I really enjoyed Julie Leach's press interview. She made it look fun. Everyone had a good time.
l did read where Julie said she would stop by her former job from time to time to say "Hi".Personally l would invite her former pool players out to an expensive Dinner as a " Thanks for being friends" and give them all a payment gift without running into a " tax situation."
JP will likely be upped before the drawing, just saw someone put down three stacks at a c store on this drawing! Lines for tickets are massively long too. I'm gonna use a vending machine LOL
Please tell me where else you can buy something for set $2 dollars and return get $184,200,000. Dont worry ill wait. Its got to be hit by someone sometime. If you dont buy ticket you are guanteed to lose 100% of time. Ill gladly spend venting machine money to win millions. There are $20,$30, and $50 scratch offs that dont even sniff that kind of money.
If the Powerball Lottery Jackpot is hit this Wednesday. I hope it more than one jackpot winner. Let a few people start 2016 off with a bang.
it will be two winners, uncle sam and myself. no sense in being anything less then realistic on that prediction.
If it rolls there is no way I'm using a self serve, dern thing had a paper jam and when they got the paper unstuck the ticket was ruined. Our state refuses to reprint or reimburse for these incidences. At least at a clerk operated one they are more apt to call in the error and get permission to reproduce.
The joke in my area is that its the person who is out picking up milk or refueling and they randomly buy that one ticket, I gotta lot of milk to drink !!
Hello,cbr$ hope me you and afew others as good as you are, Happy New Year .May your Family
Be bright and cheerful , MAY WE WIN PB.
May I suggest life insurance for winners. Like Term Life. This would pay the estate taxes. Term insurance is the way to go. thank you.
I want to buy the car of my dreams.
I still rather have something like this
A friend of mine husband has the 650S model, as a joke he offered me to sit in the passenger seat and it felt like i was sitting in a deep bucket. You have to be nimble and flexible to get in and out of those cars.
I'd most likely keep it in my garage and stare at it longingly.
In a word, I don't agree.
OK, but I'll now say, yes, you have a couple good points.
BUT still, $300 Million samolians! (before taxes)
If you win that, and all to yourself, you'll have a change of heart.
I'm certainly hoping I'll be the sole winner this coming Wednesday.
You are so right duckman, the odds are terrible, the price is high, and the lower level prize payouts poor. However, I still bought a ticket because I CAN'T win it without one.
My niece had a dream of getting $25 million. I think she meant $300 million
I chuckled on that one, plumsage.
Good point, music. CDARS is actually very sage advice for someone who can't stand the turmoil of higher risk investments, or someone who wants a protected large account. My understanding, for those who are not familiar with CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service), is one would make a deposit (say the net on a $300 million lottery win) to a CDARS network member institution. That institution would then place the funds into CD's issued by other network member institutions, staying under $250K with each. Thereby maintaining FDIC coverage on all of the accounts, but managed under one consolidated statement.
There are two member banks very close to me. I'm ready!
Please call your member banks and double check if there is a limit to how much can be covered in total. It might be $50,000,000.00 total.
I would also ask, "can I move after opening a CDARS account?"
Thank You realtorjim for your encouragement.
CDARS insurance caps out at 50M$.
I'm wondering if one could have multiple CDARSs by using corporations or LLCs?