Only the 4th time in history a lottery jackpot has grown to $700 million+

By Todd Northrop

This week lottery players across the United States will be pulling out all the stops to try and win Powerball, featuring one of the largest lottery jackpots in history, worth an estimated $750 million.

If you feel like it's been a long time since Powerball last had a jackpot winner you'd be right. The 25 consecutive drawings since the last winner on Dec. 26 is the longest stretch without a jackpot winner in the game's history.

All those drawings have accumulated a massive pile of cash, ready to provide multi-generational wealth to the lucky lottery player who wins it all.

It is the 4th-largest lottery jackpot in world history, and the 5th-largest cash option ever offered. It is also only the 4th time in history any lottery jackpot has crossed the $700 million mark.

Saturday night when there were no Powerball jackpot winners, the new jackpot for Wednesday's drawing was raised to $750 million, with a lump-sum cash option of $465.5 million. Nearly a half-billion dollars in cash!

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 $625 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $638.8 million.

Of course, any big winner (or winners) of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot will have to pay taxes on their prize, so the website USA Mega has a handy Powerball Jackpot Analysis page available to calculate the federal and state taxes that would be withheld upon payout. (Additional taxes beyond what is shown in the analysis will likely be owed by the winner the following April, depending on how the winner chooses to dispose of and invest their money.)

Players looking for a nearby lottery retailer — or that out-of-the-way retailer with a smaller line — are encouraged to use Lottery Places, the only app for iOS, Android, and Windows that can locate the nearest lottery retailers in every jurisdiction that sells Powerball and Mega Millions. The helpful app can locate lottery stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, much of Canada, and the Caribbean.

Michigan lottery players also have the option to bypass the store completely and buy Powerball lottery tickets online.

Players outside the USA can use a reputable butler service, which provides scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, the lottery ticket service was used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.

The winning numbers for Saturday, March 23, 2019 were 24, 25, 52, 60, and 66, with Powerball number 5.  The Power Play number was 3.

Even though nobody won the jackpot Saturday, 10 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from Florida, 1 from Illinois, 1 from New Hampshire, 2 from New York, 1 from North Carolina, 1 from North Dakota, 1 from South Carolina, and 1 from Wisconsin.

Two of the second-prize winners — one of the tickets purchased in Florida and the one sold in Wisconsin — purchased the Power Play option for an extra $1 per play, doubling their prize to $2 million.

When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, a second-prize win is doubled and any other non-jackpot prize is multplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. A full chart of payout amounts can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.

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.

Also in the Saturday drawing, 101 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000.  Of those tickets, 13 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 12 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $20,111 this drawing.

Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised a whopping $111.2 million from its previous amount of $638.8 million and the cash value was raised by $76.5 million from its previous amount of $389 million.

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

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 4th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 3rd-largest Powerball jackpot ever.  Brisk sales will almost certainly push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

1. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 - South Carolina
3. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
4. Powerball: $750 million, Mar. 27, 2019 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
5. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 - Iowa, New York
6. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
7. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
8. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
9. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
10. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
11. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
12. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
13. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
14. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
15. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
16. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
17. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
18. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
19. Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
20. Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
21. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
22. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
23. Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 - New York
24. Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
25. 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.

Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 5th-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: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
3. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
4. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
5. Powerball: $465.5 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($750 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
6. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
7. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
8. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
9. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
10. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
11. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
12. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
13. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
14. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
15. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
16. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
17. Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
18. Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
19. Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
20. Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
21. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
22. Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
23. Mega Millions: $254.6 million cash, Jan. 1, 2019 ($425 million annuity) - New York
24. Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
25. 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