8th-largest cash value in US history

By Todd Northrop

This week Powerball will be the hot ticket, featuring a lump-sum cash payout of nearly $300 million.

The new high-water mark of $422 million for the current Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night's $391.1 million grand prize.

The lump-sum cash payout value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $290 million — the 8th-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history.  (See top 25 annuity and cash values 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.

Pennsylvania players can mourn the loss of their state tax-free status, since Pennsylvania just made lottery prizes subject to the state's 3.07% income tax rate. (See Pennsylvania lottery winners now subject to state tax on prizes, Lottery Post, Jul. 20, 2016.)

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 until last week to claim their share.

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 Saturday's drawing was $390 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $391.1 million.

Wednesday's mammoth prize is the result of 22 consecutive draws without a winner.  The run-up started as a $40 million prize on May 11.

The winning numbers for Saturday, July 23, 2016 were 5, 7, 23, 35, and 39, with Powerball number 11.  The Power Play number was 2.

In addition to the jackpot going unclaimed, the first five numbers were too challenging for even one ticket to match, so nobody won the second prize of $1 million.

The California prize pool for second prize was $1,160,469 this drawing, which would have been split by any players matching all five numbers in that state. 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.

43 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000.  Of those tickets, 5 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 4 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $21,915 this drawing.

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 Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $30.9 million from its previous amount of $391.1 million. The cash value was raised by $19.7 million from its previous amount of $271.3 million.

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

When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, second-prize winners have their prizes automatically doubled to $2 million, while all other non-jackpot prizes are multiplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. All prize payout amounts, including Power Play multipied prizes, 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 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

Wednesday's Powerball jackpot currently stands tied for the 11th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States.  That position may rise before the drawing Wednesday night, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

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. Mega Millions: $540 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
8. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
9. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
10. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
11. Powerball: $422 million, Jul. 27, 2016 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
12. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
13. Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
14. Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
15. Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
16. Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
17. The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
18. Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
19. Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
20. Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
21. Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
22. Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
23. The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
24. Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
25. Mega Millions: $321 million, Nov. 4, 2014 - New York

The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 9
• 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.

Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 8th-largest cash value in U.S. 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. Mega Millions: $380.8 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($540 million annuity) - Indiana
6. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
7. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
8. Powerball: $291 million cash, Jul. 27, 2016 ($422 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
9. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
10. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
11. Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
12. Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
13. Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
14. Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
15. Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
16. Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
17. Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
18. Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
19. Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
20. Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
21. Mega Millions: $197.5 million cash, Nov. 4, 2014 ($321 million annuity) - New York
22. Powerball: $197.4 million cash, Sep. 30, 2015 ($310.5 million annuity) - Michigan
23. Mega Millions: $194.4 million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
24. Powerball: $191.9 million cash, Mar. 2, 2016 ($291.4 million annuity) - Florida
25. Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California

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

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 11