By Todd Northrop
If world events have got you down, maybe the rising Powerball jackpot is just the thing to lift your spirits and your dreams.
For just the second time in 2017, a Powerball jackpot has exceeded $300 million and has entered into the top 25 US jackpots of all time. In fact, Wednesday's Powerball drawing is inching close to the $400 million mark.
The new Powerball jackpot is currently cresting at $375 million for the Wednesday drawing, ranking as the 18th-largest US lottery jackpot of all time. It was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night's $338 million grand prize.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $235.4 million — the 14th-largest cash value 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.
The mammoth prize up for grabs on Wednesday is the result of 18 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $40 million prize on April 5th.
The last major Powerball jackpot that was won was a $155.2 million grand prize drawn on Mar. 22, 2017, but the prize has not yet been claimed. It was sold at the Pewaukee Corner Pump, located at 1194 Capitol Drive in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
Although in-store cameras have spotted the woman who purchased the ticket in March, she has not yet been identified. Wisconsin has a 180-day expiration period for lottery tickets, meaning the prize must be claimed before mid-September or else the ticket will become worthless.
Players should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries, and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs. This happened in Saturday's drawing, which was estimated to be $337 million, but ended up as a $338 million grand prize by the time all proceeds were counted right before draw time Saturday night.
The winning numbers for Saturday, Jun. 3, 2017, were 3, 9, 21, 41, and 54, with Powerball number 25. The Power Play number was 4.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Saturday, 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from Florida, 1 from New York, and 1 from Ohio.
Only one of the the winning second-prize tickets — one of the tickets sold in Florida — was purchased with the Power Play option. That lucky Florida ticket-holder will have their prize automatically doubled to $2 million.
Power Play is available in all Powerball jurisdictions except California for an extra $1 per play. Power Play increases the size of any non-jackpot prize that a player wins. Second prize is doubled to $2 million, and all prizes lower than that are multiplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening.
The fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's mandated 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 Saturday night drawing, 41 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 $200,000, and 6 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $15,964 this drawing.
Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $37 million from its previous amount of $338 million. The cash value was raised by $25.7 million from its previous amount of $209.7 million.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
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
Wednesday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 18th-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 - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
- Powerball: $375 million, Jun. 7, 2017 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
- The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
- Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
- Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 17
- Mega Millions: 7
- The Big Game: 1
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 14th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- 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
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Powerball: $235.4 million cash, Jun. 7, 2017 ($375 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
- Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
- Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $197.5 million cash, Nov. 4, 2014 ($321 million annuity) - New York
- Powerball: $197.4 million cash, Sep. 30, 2015 ($310.5 million annuity) - Michigan
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
Not the #1 Record, but More Than Enough!
How about 10 billion dollars tax free and followed by yearly 11% tax free interests?
Good luck to all players!!!
A sole Californian winner would receive a check for $176,550,000.00 More taxes will still be owed on that amount.
I guess taxes would be a favorite topic of discussion amongst all your new friends at the Country Club.
Thank You, Todd, for this Top 25 list.
I can actually empty my bank account and buy that boy with a pipe!
HERE WE GO.......
sneaks off to get a couple tickets
I am ready to win it. No problemo with $375 M I L L I ON DOLLARS lol. I already know where I will be the next day after the funds hit my bank account.
Good Luck for everyone with a ticket, it could be any one of us.
^This.
Considering what it last sold for plus inflation - I dont think you will be able to afford it even if you win Wed.
I'm officially convinced that the multi-state lottery is FRAUDULENT AND FAKE. It's just like the W.W.E. for entertainment purposes only!!!! Happy Dreaming????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????a fool see what a fool wants to see!
Officially convinced? No doubt by a sentinel in a trench coat, collars upturned on a dark and stormy night huh? The only thing you could make out was the squinted eyes reflected in his face as he took a deep pull on his
while standing under a dim lit streetlight? He has paid multiple visits to others here. Don't take him serious Pirate.
Bought a physical ticket @ 0525 before going to work. Bought one for a co-worker and put it inside a piece of printer paper with a note: Time to win the effen lottery; well I used the f bomb.
The biggest gripe I have with PB is PP; it does not mirror MM. The prize stays $2 million regardless of the powerplay # which I believe was 4 this time. MM would give $4 million for that. Anyway anything @ this rate would be most graciously accepted.
About f'ing time, indeed.
In October you can play MM instead, maybe it will take over, and then PB can make it's game even less attractive again. It's a never-ending cycle/race to the bottom.
Good luck, I'm sure you'd find many uses.
The write-up says it's been 21 draws without a winner, I believe that's the same amount of roll-overs Gloria's jackpot took to build, which was $120M if I remember correctly.