7th-largest cash value in history

By Todd Northrop

Ready to start dreaming about dollar signs again?

Just four months after people from every country went into frenzy trying to find creative ways to buy tickets for the biggest jackpot the world had ever seen, Powerball is back with another top-10 jackpot that can deliver multi-generational wealth.

After nobody won Wednesday's advertised $348 million grand prize, the Powerball jackpot increased to a whopping $415 million for Saturday's drawing — the 9th-largest US lottery jackpot of all time.

But since most winners choose the lump-sum cash option, the $269.7 million cash value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is what might get people buying a few extra tickets.  It's the 7th-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 at the end of this article.  For the first time, a jackpot must be greater than $400 million to make it into the top-10, as number 10 on the list is $414 million.

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 18 consecutive draws without a winner.  The run-up started as a $40 million prize on March 5.

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 $348 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $361.5 million.  The cash value increased from $226.1 million to $234.9 million.

The winning numbers for Wednesday, May 4, 2016 were 30, 47, 57, 66, and 69, with Powerball number 3.  The Power Play number was 3.

Although nobody won the jackpot Wednesday night, 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Florida and 1 from New York.  Neither player purchased their winning ticket with the Power Play option.  If they had, their prize would have been automatically doubled to $2,000,000.

40 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000.  Of those tickets, 8 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 4 were purchased in California where the prize was $34,285 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.

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.

Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $53.5 million from its previous amount of $361.5 million. The cash value was raised by $34.8 million from its previous amount of $234.9 million.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday 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, the second prize amount doubles to $2,000,000, and all other non-jackpot prizes are multiplied by the Power Play number randomly drawn that evening.

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.

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.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 9th-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: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
3. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
4. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
5. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
6. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
7. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
8. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
9. Powerball: $415 million, May 7, 2016 - Preliminary estimate, no winner yet
10. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
11. Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
12. Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
13. Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
14. Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
15. The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
16. Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
17. Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
18. Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
19. Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
20. Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
21. The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
22. Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
23. Mega Millions: $321 million, Nov. 4, 2014 - New York
24. Mega Millions: $319 million, Mar. 25, 2011 - New York
25. Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005 - California

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

• Powerball: 13
• Mega Millions: 10
• The Big Game: 2

The Big Game is the original name of Mega Millions, from the game's first drawing on Sep. 6, 1996 through May 14, 2002.  The name was changed to Mega Millions starting with the May 17, 2002 drawing.

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 7th-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: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
3. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
4. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
5. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
6. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
7. Powerball: $269.7 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($415 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, no winner yet
8. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
9. Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
10. Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
11. Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
12. Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
13. Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
14. Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
15. Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
16. Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
17. Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
18. Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
19. Mega Millions: $197.5 million cash, Nov. 4, 2014 ($321 million annuity) - New York
20. Powerball: $197.4 million cash, Sep. 30, 2015 ($310.5 million annuity) - Michigan
21. Mega Millions: $194.4 million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
22. Powerball: $191.9 million cash, Mar. 2, 2016 ($291.4 million annuity) - Florida
23. Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California
24. The Big Game: $180 million cash, May 9, 2000 ($363 million annuity) - Illinois, Michigan
25. Mega Millions: $177.3 million cash, Jan. 16, 2015 ($270 million annuity) - Illinois

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

• Powerball: 13
• Mega Millions: 11
• The Big Game: 1