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 $680 million.

If you feel like it's been a long time since Powerball last had a jackpot winner you'd be right. Powerball has seen 35 consecutive drawings since the last winner on August 3 — a 3-month stretch.

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.

Monday night when there were no Powerball jackpot winners, the new jackpot for Wednesday's drawing was estimated at $680 million, with a lump-sum cash option of $326.1 million.

It is the 10th-largest lottery jackpot in US history, but "only" the 21st-largest cash option ever offered.

For players wondering why the cash value is not keeping pace with the annuity, the answer is that they are looking at it backwards. The cash value drives the annuity (not the reverse), and the poor economy that has been steadily worsening over the past two years has caused interest rates to fluctuate wildly, sending the annuity higher with less cash on-hand.

Lottery Post published an informative video that steps through exactly how the jackpot annuity and cash value is calculated — and is strongly recommended viewing for any lottery player.

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 Monday's drawing was $610 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $637.8 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. The feature calculates both the initial withholdings and the final tax burden due at the end of the year, and even can show taxes calculated for different IRS filing statuses.

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.

Some states offer direct online sales too, allowing players to bypass the store completely. States that offer this ability include Colorado (Mega Millions and Powerball), Michigan (Mega Millions and Powerball), Minnesota (Mega Millions and Powerball), Oregon (Mega Millions and Powerball), Texas (Mega Millions and Powerball), and Virginia (Mega Millions and Powerball). Note that some of these links will only work properly for residents of the states mentioned.

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 Monday, October 24, 2022 were 18, 23, 35, 45, and 54, with Powerball number 16. The Power Play number was 4.

The Monday Double Play drawing results were 12, 48, 51, 63, and 67, with Powerball number 26. Double Play is a game option currently available in 14 states that lets you play your numbers in a second drawing for an extra $1 per play, with a chance to win up to $10 million in cash. See How to Play Powerball at USA Mega for more information about Double Play.

Even though nobody won the jackpot Monday, 1 lucky player from Texas matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize.

The Texas player who purchased the second-prize ticket did not purchase the Power Play multiplier. If they had, their ticket would be worth $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 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 and the Powerball Double Play Prize Payouts pages 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 Monday drawing, 42 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 $200,000, and 5 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $18,195 this drawing.

Following the Monday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $42.2 million from its previous amount of $637.8 million and the cash value was raised by $20.2 million from its previous amount of $305.9 million.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday 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. Drawings are Mondays, 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 10th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 7th-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 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
3. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
4. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
5. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
6. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
7. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
8. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
9. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
10. Powerball: $680 million, Oct 26, 2022 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Prelimiary estimate, not won yet
11. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
12. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
13. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
14. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
15. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
16. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
17. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
18. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
19. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
20. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
21. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
22. Mega Millions: $516 million, May 21, 2021 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Pennsylvania
23. Mega Millions: $502 million, Oct. 14, 2022 (21 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Florida
24. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
25. Powerball: $473.1 million, Apr. 27, 2022 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Arizona

The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 11

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 21st-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. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
4. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
5. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
6. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
7. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
8. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
9. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
10. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
11. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
12. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
13. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
14. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
15. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
16. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
17. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
18. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
19. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
20. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
21. Powerball: $326.1 million cash, Oct 26, 2022 ($680 million annuity) - Prelimiary estimate, not won yet
22. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
23. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
24. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
25. Mega Millions: $314.4 million cash, Sep. 21, 2021 ($431 million annuity) - New York

The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 12
• Mega Millions: 13