2nd-largest lottery jackpot the world has ever seen!
Cash value nearly half-billion dollars
By Todd Northrop
Spurred on by a surge of lottery ticket sales, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) has raised the official estimate for Wednesday's Powerball drawing to $700 million.
With a new lump-sum cash estimate of $443.3 million, a single-ticket winner of the drawing would receive nearly a half-billion dollars in cash.
And it may not stop there.
Players should watch for further jackpot increases before the Wednesday drawing. Long lines of ticket buyers across the nation are generating lottery ticket sales at unprecedented levels. Players should not wait until the last minute to buy their their tickets.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica expressed what many are feeling during this jackpot surge: "So happy to see the excitement building again! Great fun!"
Wednesday's jackpot started at $40 million on June 14th, and is the result of 20 drawings with no jackpot winner.
The final jackpot tally will be announced during the live draw show on Wednesday night, although it's still possible the official estimate will be increased again before then.
Although many players will purchase multiple tickets to increase their chances of winning, state lotteries are cautioning restraint.
"As always, we encourage players to play responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win. Pool play is very popular with big jackpots, and this reinforces the community aspect of playing Powerball with your friends and coworkers," said Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Director Bishop Woosley.
Wednesday's Powerball grand prize is the second-largest lottery jackpot in world history. The only larger lottery jackpot ever awarded was on January 13, 2016, when three tickets from California, Florida, and Tennessee shared a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
Although some lottery players (and some in the news media) believe Spain's El Gordo carries the second-largest lottery jackpot in the world, this is not the case. El Gordo, despite being termed a "lottery" is actually a raffle-style game, and the top prize is always divided between hundreds of winners. It is like a lottery scratch game in which is the total available prize pool of up to hundreds of millions of dollars is split between thousands of winners, and is not considered a "jackpot".
A jackpot is a large cash prize that accumulates until it is won, whereas a prize pool is the total value awarded to all players of a game. Thus, Powerball has the largest jackpot in world history, while El Gordo has the largest prize pool. Some may believe this is splitting hairs, but in the lottery industry it is an important distinction, and unfortunately one that the mainstream news media cares little to differentiate.
Powerball jackpots start at $40 million and roll until the jackpot is won. Players win the jackpot by matching five numbers from a field of 69 numbers and one Powerball number from a field of 26 numbers. Drawings are conducted each Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
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.
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.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Wednesday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the second-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States — and in the world. The amount of the jackpot may rise even further before the drawing Wednesday night, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales will certainly continue to push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
If nobody wins Wednesday things will get really interesting.
- Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Powerball: $700 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
- 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: $393 million, Aug. 11, 2017 - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
- 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
For those keeping score, 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 3rd-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: $443.3 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($700 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
- 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: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- 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
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
Have my 2 tickets--bring it on!
It's Mine! It's Mine!
Thank You, Todd Northrop and the Lottery Post Staff for this happy update. WOW !!
It is great to be a part of lottery history.
Good Luck to all Lottery Post members who are playing this game.
Power Ball rocks!!
COUPLE THINGS:
Lottery Post is under heavy traffic. Dam!
lovely! Time to go out and get an additional quick pick!
I like it.
High jackpots just does something to your soul:-)
I'm ready!
In addition to all the common sentiments many here share regarding this super-large jackpot, another thought on my mind is what happens if there's a computer glitch?
Many players don't realize Powerball (and likewise with Mega Millions) master numbers file is a collection of separate files submitted by each participating lottery. Each sells tickets utilizing their own separate systems and procedures.
Imagine the master numbers file being corrupted in some way, such as a participating lottery failing to properly submit all numbers sold. I can easily see that happening due to faulty software (ie. a race-condition due to extremely high sales), hardware issue (ie. cosmic rays flipping a bit), hacking, etc...
Imagine MUSL claiming there's no jackpot winner, but then one or more winners were to come forward with legitimately sold tickets. That would shake public confidence in such games.
Oh my, Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams indeed....
Pay attention to the CASH VALUE. Look at the JP/CV charts. $656m greater than $700m annuity. 2012 must have been a good year. Let it bounce
MO MONEY!.
For me, going to see the total solar eclipse yesterday was the main attraction, but this was the OTHER reason for me going to Tennessee - getting tickets for the big one!
This jackpot is cream personafied, it keeps rising to the top. I love it!
Good luck to all players!!!
Seriously Folks- Would you REALLY want all the stress of winning a $1 Billion Jackpot all by yourself? Assuming it rolls tomorrow night of course.
What would Gail Howard think of such a jackpot? Bless her soul. She probably would have unlocked the winning numbers by now.
I will take my $2 million and slip into the background thank you very much!-weshar75
Another welcome surprise: The MM which is at $25 million is estimated to go up to $37 million if it rolls. Normally, it would be the minimum of $5 million increase to $30 million. That is why it is great to have two large jackpots going at once since they drive up sales of both of them.
I have no idea what the cash value and post tax amount of $37million would be. I know on $25 mil you wd take home about $9.5 million cash, so I guestimate that on $37 mil, it would be $13.5 mil. I would be more than happy to win tonight's MM jackpot and walk away with the $9.5 mil cash.
A trust or some states you can remain anonymous.
Only a 40% chance it gets hit Wednesday night. We may have a Billion dollar jackpot Saturday!
40% WOW !!! PB may surprise us again and roll over on Wednesday night.
Agreed. I also think there will be a winning ticket on Sat. We all shall see.
I assume it will be won Wednesday, can't see it going past this but who knows.
What stress? I create a blind trust & enjoy the money with my family and closest friends. Simple.
I'm ready to win, so bring it on!
I went into a store at 5 AM on Sunday (on my way to work) and asked for a $10 quick pick. The worker told me he had two $10 quick pick tickets from another customer that asked for $20 worth, but didn't have enough money to pay for them.
I bought one of the $10 "mistake / unwanted" tickets. You never know.
I'm amazed they sold to you at 5am. In Calif, the hours are 6am to something. But the only reason the computers are down is for maintenance and they turn them back on at 5:30 am. I trained one guy to turn on the computers before 6 am but today there was a new guy. This isnt booze. There are no laws forbidding tickets from being sold before 6 am. Finally, another clerk told him to do it.
I am Hushed now !!!!
I need to get an ice cream cone from McDonalds and eat with Big Hamburger !!!
Let the Jackpot rise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do not know who the winner will be on Wednesday night - I see a rainbow i the SKY !!!!!
.
S - S - S - Seven Hundred Million?
Oh Boy!
Good Luck to all LP members, this Wednesday. I just want the 2nd prize.
And that should be enough me. I tend to spend more than I should.
If I win prize #2, and I do get a basic 911 Porsche, I'll have to really trim down on every thing else.
Because that 911 will require some expensive insurance.
It will go up much more before tomorrow night.
Just curious,
how do you figure a 40% chance it gets hit Wednesday night?
Well well well, I predicted it would be $700 million tomorrow night a few days ago. Posted my thoughts on LP! Now my prediction of a big win just may come to fruition--for me.
So true.
In NY the lottery machines are down from 3:30 AM to 4:00 AM.
That would be great for me. I'm an early riser.
With a new lump-sum cash estimate of $443.3 million, a single-ticket winner of the drawing would receive nearly a half-billion dollars in cash.
First off that is a lot of cash to have in your house.
Second off they do not give you cash at all they wire the money into your account or give you a check.
Third off after all taxes are taken out you will end up with just over $200 million not $443,300,000.
YES!
Hi, Could you please tell me how to get animated emojis
The Texas Lottery posts the new Jackpot number (it will be $900M) for Saturday's drawing if it's not hit and also the percentage chance the current draw will get hit. Good luck to all. Praise the Living God. He's good. He's great. HA!
There's a simple formula that tells you the chance of something happening based on the probability and the number of chances. As a rough approximation the increase in the annuity value is the same as the number of tickets sold. If the final jackpot is $700 million that's an increase of about 160 million dollars resulting from sales of about 160 million tickets.
Figuring the jackpot will get to 725 to 750 the actual sales will be closer to 185 to 210 million tickets. In that case the chance it gets hit is about 47 to 51%, with a single winner being about twice as likely as multiple winners.
I would donate several semi truck loads of water to my hometown of Flint,MI.
This might be the first time that there has been a huge jackpot where not a single major media company has interviewed Richard Lustig for advice. It took a while but seems everyone has finally caught on. I'll take the recycled "what you should and shouldn't do" over his snake oil nonsense any day. Even the "why it's dangerous to be neighbors with a lottery winner" didn't tee me off the way his self-aggrandizing idiocy does.
Thank you...a nice Ky lottery deposit confirmation of $20 on Mega Millions/MP last night. Forgot all about it.
Please folks stop all this ranting and raving about politics. Mum used to tell me you can't argue politics or religion, the other side always thinks they're are correct. This LP is supposed to be for lottery only. Your opinion and a dollar might be me a cup of hot tea and could care less what your views are.
its waaaaaaay too early for me to be up...........
I see the discussion about $700 Million jackpot is in full swing and even the trolls/snowflakes and other pot stirrers are coming out of yonder pile of kindling
good luck to all and
s to it rolling over and growing to a billion dollars jejejeje
My husband and I have already made an "A" list of names of friends and family we're going to share with if we get the big one. We put this list together last year when the $Billion mark was reached. A Trust will claim the winnings and those on the list will be in that Trust before cashing in the ticket. There is also a "B" list of names and they will receive a $14,000 check (max legal amount at present).
Suzy,
That $14,000.00 can be doubled if you give a check and hubby gives a check without incurring the dreaded gift tax, should you want to extend your giving ways
The Powerball jackpot is now $700 million — here's Mark Cuban's advice for the winner
(You don't become a smart investor when you win the lottery, says Mark Cuban.Brian Snyder/Reuters)
The Powerball jackpot has reached $700 million.
That makes it the second-largest lottery jackpot in US history. The largest was $1.6 billion in January 2016.
Back then, Business Insider reached out to the billionaire Mark Cuban to ask about his tips for lottery winners.
He shared the advice he gave his local paper, The Dallas Morning News. While he was talking specifically about the multibillion-dollar jackpot at the time, it's not a stretch to imagine his advice still applies.
Here's what he told The Dallas Morning News:
He also shared one last bonus tip with Business Insider: "Be nice. No one likes a mean billionaire. :)"
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/powerball-jackpot-now-700-million-165244910.html
Thank You, Coin Toss for posting Mark Cuban's advice.
Personally, my age and health will determine whether or not to take the Lump Sum.
With the excellent financial advice, I should be able to earn more than 5 %.
The IRS may come after my heirs to collect the taxes due at the time of my death.
Would you post a link to this information? Thanks!!
With certain relatives, spendthrift trusts, and even offshore trusts would definitely be in play.
I won't follow any advice from Mark Cuban!
I agree with you in principle that he is a slim ball for a multitude of reasons, but what he said about family members and "friends" is spot on. A blind hog finds an acorn every once in a while.
If it rolls over the next estimate is 1 billion according to texas lottery
Cuban's advice is spot on. His message is for the regular Joe and Jane who wouldn't recognize a T-bone about investing and managing their money. If you are a smart investor doing it for years successfully, then the lump sum is for you. If you are like most lottery winners who haven't ever seen $5ooK together (you get the point) in their lives, then you should choose the annuity, whether you are 18 or 99 years old. Reality is nobody needs more than the first annuity payment to live and do their thing. Your estate can claim the rest if you die. Choosing the lump sum, just the worry alone about what your lawyers and investors are doing with your money (ponzies, plain thievery, bad investments, Madoff) is enough to cause you diabetes, or a heart attack. You lose all your money and you are out of luck. Yes, I am aware about the inflation year after year with the annuity. Still it is a good price to pay for security and piece of mind, if you choose the annuity. So Economics and business 101 will tell you to choose the lump sum. Common sense 101 will tell you, choose the annuity, unless you are a successful investor or money man
If it rolls tonight, the jackpot for Saturday night is estimated to be $1 billion with a cash option of $633.3 million
Good luck to everyone.
ANSWER is yes. It is an enjoyable stress I so badly want. #timetobeselfish
I CUT the cord long time ago. Is the media going crazy on tv about the jackpot or not yet?
That's right....forgot about that. Married couples can double that amount....
Amen!