By Todd Northrop
This week Powerball is the hot ticket, featuring a jackpot payout of more than a half-billion dollars.
The new high-water mark of $550 million for the current Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night's $492.1 million grand prize. The new jackpot stands as the 11th-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history. (See top 25 annuity and cash values below.)
The lump-sum cash payout value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $335 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.
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 about six months 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.
Wednesday's mammoth prize is the result of 23 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Dec. 29, 2018.
The winning numbers for Saturday, Mar. 16, 2019 were 30, 34, 39, 53, and 67, with Powerball number 11. The Power Play number was 2.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Saturday, 3 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from New Jersey, 1 from North Dakota, and 1 from Pennsylvania.
Only the ticket sold in North Dakota was purchased with the Power Play option, automatically doubling their prize to $2 million.
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. 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.
The California prize pool for second prize was $2,722,725 this drawing, which would have been split by any players matching all five numbers in that state. Now that prize money will be rolled into the prize pool for the California second prize next drawing.
54 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 10 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 5 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $24,711 this drawing.
Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $57.9 million from its previous amount of $492.1 million. The cash value was raised by $36.6 million from its previous amount of $298.4 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 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 11th-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: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 - South Carolina
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 - Iowa, New York
- 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
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $550 million, Mar. 20, 2019 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
- 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
- Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 - New York
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
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 upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 13th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
- 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
- Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- 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: $335 million cash, Mar. 20, 2019 ($550 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- 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: $254.6 million cash, Jan. 1, 2019 ($425 million annuity) - New York
- 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
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
In the Top 25: #11 Annuity, #13 Cash!
$14 & $8 won playing on-line...bad investment for $60 on-line, but IDC who says what.
ND winning $2 million, isn't that a first for them?? Happy for the winner there.
The United States Census Bureau estimates North Dakota's population was 760,077 on July 1, 2018!
How many are Lottery Players?
Over half a a billion! One could bribe multiple college officials with that amount of money. Lol
We can expect more news coverage with this jackpot. Local, State, and National. Maybe even inter-national.
I am dreaming about winning $211,000,000.00 Being a grateful taxpayer.
We do get a lot from our taxes. Defense, highways, disease control, national parks as well as memorial parks over seas, education, the Justice Department, and the three branches of Government.
I am taking the Lump Sum because of my age and health. Plus we do not know how high the Democrats will raise taxes in the future. 90%? Those eliminate my choice of the Annuity.
As a winner I can expect more so called friends being nice to me and expecting something in return. They will use me. When the money is gone they will leave as well. "NO" will deal with those types.
I just learned that Certified Financial Planners are reviewed and the length of time that a customer stays is rated. The longer the investor stays with one CFP the better record is made. I think that this data is available to investors.
Here's hoping a LP Member, Staff, or Todd wins Wednesday night!
I won $4 and reinvested it into Wednesday's Drawing!
Here We Go!
music*, your third from last paragraph sums up a very important point. Don't know this lady's name (can I say that and not get barraged?) Financial guru who was on TV last year talking about the same thing. She would tell these out of the come out of the woodwork types with their hands out to call her financial accountant. That person was instructed to give an automatic no!
Megan Trainor says it best. The NO song
” As a winner l can expect.” Well yeah Music, you can, IF you fail to keep your mouth shut. There is no shame in doing that.The winners from So Cal, whom you quote quite often, did just that. They hitched their wagon to a trailer so to speak a& headed for parts unknown. Some winners go on tv, then complain about not getting “ privacy “- yeah right, ok. Just remember Music, “Loose lips, sink ships.” Why risk it? Unless you love negotiating your financial vessel through reefs.
At least you won eight bucks back, some did not get anything,but good luck gettin' it Wed night Bleu, good afternoon
I personally am so glad only spent on 1 game= 2.00
dad always say its rigged for which is why only "1" win almost a billion or
over 100 million each time, so he say it is a rigged system, and he stopped playing 2 decades ago, or so and he says i am not playing it again, Cassie! LOL so i play it only sporatic, or mommie does, but not often,only when it get super high at times.
We didn't even have a pb # so got nothing back from it, but yea, it's nice some 1 did win a million ND
In NJ, i hear have alot of wins each year,so again they got a millionaire again and nearby PA., i think.
The ND winner had the Powerplay and won $2 mil. The tickets from NJ & PA won $1 mil each.
Thank You, TheMeatman2005,
Meghan Trainor better sock away her fortune before she gets old and no longer a superstar.
NO is a Powerful word.
Choose your friends wisely.
I remember past winners who are no longer in the spot light. They just disappear into the night. The public will tire of me and go report on a "If it bleeds it leads" story. I am unknown now and will be soon after claiming.
I agree with you noise-gate and will not have my face put into the worldwideweb forever. I enjoy my privacy like a normal person does.
"negotiating your financial vessel through the reefs" I will use the lottery disasters as light houses to avoid those reefs and rocky shores. With $211,050,000.00 I will spend on financial advisers wisely.
Great post! I think we all would like to win a significant amount! I do q-picks and work on my own numbers by using bingo numbers or Lotto Pro. Any way is good if you can win by your method!