$403 MILLION: Powerball jackpot to guarantee a happy holidays for lucky winner

Nov 25, 2016, 9:07 am (61 comments)

Powerball

By Todd Northrop

While you're out Black Friday shopping, don't forget to pick up some Powerball tickets.

For the fourth time this year, the multi-state Powerball lottery game's jackpot has crossed over the $400 million mark, and entered into the realm of wealth so vast that it's hard to imagine.

After nobody won Wednesday's $374.1 million grand prize, the Powerball jackpot increased to a whopping $403 million for Saturday's drawing — the 13th-largest US lottery jackpot of all time.

But since most winners choose the lump-sum cash option, the $243.8 million cash value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is what might get people buying a few extra tickets.  It's the 11th-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.

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 19 consecutive draws without a winner.  The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Sept. 21.

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 $359 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $374.1 million.  The cash value increased from $219.6 million to $228.8 million.

The winning numbers for Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016 were 7, 32, 41, 47, and 61, with Powerball number 3.  The Power Play number was 2.

Although nobody won the jackpot Wednesday night, 3 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California, 1 from Florida, and 1 from Maryland. None of the three winning tickets was purchased with the Power Play option.  If they had, their prize would have been automatically doubled to $2,000,000.

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.

40 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000.  Of those tickets, 7 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 5 were purchased in California where the prize was $17,672 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.

Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $28.9 million from its previous amount of $374.1 million. The cash value was raised by $15 million from its previous amount of $228.8 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 13th-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. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
  8. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
  9. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
  10. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
  11. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
  12. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
  13. Powerball: $403 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
  14. Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
  15. Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
  16. Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
  17. Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
  18. The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
  19. Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
  20. Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
  21. Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
  22. Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
  23. Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
  24. The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
  25. Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia

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

  • Powerball: 15
  • Mega Millions: 8
  • 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 11th-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. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 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: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
  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. Powerball: $243.8 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($403 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
  12. Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
  13. Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
  14. Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
  15. Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
  16. Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
  17. Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
  18. Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
  19. Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
  20. Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
  21. Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
  22. Mega Millions: $197.5 million cash, Nov. 4, 2014 ($321 million annuity) - New York
  23. Powerball: $197.4 million cash, Sep. 30, 2015 ($310.5 million annuity) - Michigan
  24. Mega Millions: $194.4 million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
  25. Powerball: $191.9 million cash, Mar. 2, 2016 ($291.4 million annuity) - Florida

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

  • Powerball: 15
  • Mega Millions: 10

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Thanks Todd,

Always fun to read the top 25 list !

gocart1's avatargocart1

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on Nov 25, 2016

Thanks Todd,

Always fun to read the top 25 list !

I Agree!    HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE...PartyUS FlagParty

cbr$'s avatarcbr$
Thanks Todd. Look like I may be going on a road trip again. Four hours long, 
one way. Wander why my state can't get this right? Oh , well.Cool
Redd55

Interesting that the largest jackpots had to be split 2 or 3 ways while with some of the smaller ones, the single winner took home more. 

Wink

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

Skeptical time to spend another few bucks.......

wander73's avatarwander73

If there was a winner tomorrow night then they need to open up on three financial institutions

noise-gate

 California is long overdue, l can sense this jackpot coming to a boil.

***On a side note: stepped on the scale this morning and actually dropped weight after eating a good portion of the bird yesterday. This could be a sign, a good sign. What's that old saying" You win by losing. "

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

Dance

A nice tidy sum of money to win!

$$$$$$

VIP3772

If no winner, it will roll over to $465 Million dollars

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

Good luck to all of us!

lejardin's avatarlejardin

I will go out only to get my PB tickets.  $403 million is a humongous amount to win as it is.  With each draw it gets more exciting as our hope grows.  I agree with Todd, someone is going to have a truly WONDERFUL holiday season, I sure wouldnt mind being that person or one of...

And if it rolls Saturday, $465 MILLION....... Holy Moly, well I would like the chance to prove I would do good with it.

Sincere Good Wishes to All.

music*'s avatarmusic*

Quote: Originally posted by lejardin on Nov 25, 2016

I will go out only to get my PB tickets.  $403 million is a humongous amount to win as it is.  With each draw it gets more exciting as our hope grows.  I agree with Todd, someone is going to have a truly WONDERFUL holiday season, I sure wouldnt mind being that person or one of...

And if it rolls Saturday, $465 MILLION....... Holy Moly, well I would like the chance to prove I would do good with it.

Sincere Good Wishes to All.

I Agree! with lejardin. I hope the winner is an LP member.

LottoAce's avatarLottoAce

It would be a nice payday; for sure.

TheGameGrl's avatarTheGameGrl

Hope folks get out to play it...that will be more cash for this lil lady when it's time to claim ;)

Good luck players!

Tatototman65's avatarTatototman65

Good luck to all players!

Smile

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