By Todd Northrop
One lucky ticket sold in Florida matched all six numbers in the Powerball lottery drawing Wednesday night, according to lottery officials.
That ticket ended up being worth $396.9 million, up from the estimated $394 million before the drawing. The winner will have an option to take a cash payment of $276.5 million instead of the annuity.
The massive haul is the 28th-largest US lottery jackpot of all time, and the cash value is the 20th-largest of all time. (Full list is below.)
The winning Powerball numbers drawn on Jan. 29, 2020 were 9, 12, 15, 31, and 60, with Powerball number 2. The Powerplay multiplier was 2.
In addition to the big Florida winner, three tickets matched the first five white balls to win the $1 million second prize, including another one in Florida. The other two tickets were sold in Ohio and Virginia.
None of the second-prize winners purchased the Power Play option for an extra $1. If they had, their prize would have been doubled to $2 million.
Also in the Wednesday drawing, 40 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 $100,000, and 7 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $15,103 this drawing.
Of interest is the massive and still-growing California second-prize pool, which has not been won in 42 drawings. It has grown to $6,443,402 this drawing, and will be split by all the second prize Powerball winners from California, whenever that happens. So California lottery players should continue to include Powerball in their play list, even though it has been knocked back to its starting point of $40 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.
The last Powerball winner was from California on Nov. 2. It was claimed in December by a retiree and his wife who just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
Powerball is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Mississippi became the 45th state starting today.) 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.
If you didn't win the Powerball, the Mega Millions jackpot has also been on the rise.
The jackpot is an estimated $155 million with a cash option of $108.3 million for Friday night's drawing, according to USA Mega.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Wednesday's Powerball jackpot was the 28th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 18th-largest Powerball jackpot ever. (We expanded our chart below to the top-28 in order to show Wednesday's jackpot in relation to the others.)
- Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $530 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 (12 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Indiana
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New York
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $10 million) - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 (20 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 (11 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $396.9 million, Jan. 29, 2020 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
Top 25 cash value jackpots
The Wednesday Powerball jackpot ranks as the 20th-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
- Powerball: $476.9 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
- 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
- Mega Millions: $345.2 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($530 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- 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: $276.5 million cash, Jan. 29, 2020 ($396.9 million annuity) - Florida
- 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
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
Way To Go Florida!
Great! I hope who wins remains anonymous.
Another Snowbird pulls it off.
No I DEMAND to know who they are. Along with their city of residence, what they look like, and most importantly if they thought the Seahawks should have ran the ball for the Touch Down.
Oh and according to Florida law I'll just drop this copy & paste beauty!!
Florida: Not anonymous. "Florida Lottery winners cannot remain anonymous. Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide the winner's name, city of residence, game won, date won and amount won to any third party who requests the information; however Florida Lottery winners' home addresses and telephone numbers are confidential." The Florida Lottery allows trusts to claim it, however winner information is still released in compliance with the law. Source: http://www.flalottery.com/faq Source: https://www.fox13news.com/amp/consumer/hit-the-lottery-remain-anonymous-not-in-florida
And I will be picketing quietly at my PC until my demands are met IN FULL!!!
Bonita Springs, Florida sold the winning ticket. Store gets $100K bonus for selling it.
Waiting for 2020 to produce a top five jackpot.
Congrats to the winner. But is it me New York , California, Florida always have a winner . My state Illinois never won the power ball ever . I may be wrong but I think I'm right.
o wow. thanks for sharing this relevant info on Floridians out there who might or have won. wow.
i'm always sad (RIP SHAKESPEARE) first name Abraham, where he was not anonymous and a lady nefarious woman
named Dee-Dee spent alot of it, on herself, and her YOUNGER bf(boyfriend) forgetting his name, whole time he was already rip
way too soon because of her, and i hope she never get it...Sad ... I think one should have the legal right to remain anonymous.
Congratulations to a Floridian. Whether younger woman/man under 30...
or older, late 30s forties fifty ish,
or older seniors, past sixty just utilize it wisely... I know i would... Great to hear!
LOOK AT THIS
Congrats
to the win or winners, time to turn all the way UP
Thought last night's drawing was getting closer to the "must win" level and bought three tickets with PowerPlay. Probably be another 12 or more weeks until I buy tickets again.
I used to live in Bonita Springs a few years back, now I live about 15 miles away from it. I was shocked when I first heard about this. I wonder if it's anyone I know LOL
YUP! There attempt to get giant jackpots by raising the ticket prices have back-fired! Wonder how much it will take before they change back/lower the price (make a $1 option)
Yea I know, I know, they will never lower the price of the tickets!!
Lol! I'm with ya on transparency. Yet we live in an era of shadyness.
Hope they don't splurge my 6$ I contributed to their win fall. That money was hard earned. ;)