$825 MILLION: Powerball jackpot raised due to surging ticket sales

Oct 28, 2022, 11:39 am (27 comments)

Powerball

Still the 5th-largest lottery jackpot in US history, but cash value now 11th-biggest ever

By Todd Northrop

Due to larger than expected sales volume, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) has raised the official Powerball lottery jackpot estimate for Saturday's drawing to $825 million.

The all-important lump-sum cash value of the jackpot has been raised to $410.2 million.

The newly-increased jackpot amount still ranks as the 5th-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history, but the cash value ranking was increased to the 11th-largest of all time. The top-25 annuity and cash value jackpots are listed below.

The Powerball drawing will be conducted Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time (7:59 pm Pacific).  The mammoth grand prize started at $20 million on Aug. 6, and is the result of 36 drawings with no jackpot winner.

After the Wednesday evening Powerball drawing, when it was determined that there were no jackpot winners, the new jackpot estimate for Saturday was set at $800 million, with a cash value of $383.7 million. The lottery sets the initial estimates based on what they conservatively believe the ticket sales will be prior to the next drawing. When it becomes clear that actual ticket sales are vastly outstripping the initial projections, the lotteries raise the jackpot estimate accordingly — as they did today.

It is quite possible that by the time the drawing occurs tomorrow night, the jackpot will be further increased. The final jackpot tally is announced during the live drawing show. The official drawing video will be available at multi-state specialty website USA Mega, usually within 15 or 20 minutes of the drawing.

Lottery players seeking to check the winning numbers Saturday night (or tonight for the Mega Millions drawing) are urged to use USA Mega (www.usamega.com).  State lottery websites are normally brought to a standstill during busy periods, while USA Mega normally remains responsive.

Players looking for a nearby lottery retailer — or that out-of-the-way retailer with a smaller line — are encouraged to use Lottery Places, an 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 provide the ability to buy tickets over the Internet. See the Related Links section below for links to several states offering online play.

Powerball drawing results will be posted immediately after the 10:59 pm drawing at USA Mega. The number of winners and new jackpot will be announced after all participating Powerball states have reported their data, which normally occurs within a couple of hours after the drawing.

Players are advised not to wait until the last minute to buy tickets, as the ticket cutoff time varies between states.

The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1 in 292 million. The odds of winning any of the Powerball prizes are approximately 1 in 25.

Powerball tickets cost $2 each.

Lottery players can see an after-tax analysis of the current Powerball jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page.

Powerball features nine different prize levels, ranging from $4 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Powerball number.

All states except California also offer the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket purchased. The Power Play multiplies any non-jackpot prizes won by the Power Play number drawn that evening.

Players who purchase the Power Play and win second prize will automatically have their prize increased by 2x to $2 million.

According to the Texas Lottery, if there's no winner for tomorrow night's drawing, the next estimated jackpot for Powerball will be $1 billion.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 5th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 2nd-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: $825 million, Oct 29, 2022 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Prelimiary estimate, not won yet
  6. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
  7. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
  8. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
  9. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
  10. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
  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 11th-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: $410.2 million cash, Oct 29, 2022 ($825 million annuity) - Prelimiary estimate, not won yet
  12. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
  13. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
  14. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
  15. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
  16. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
  17. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
  18. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
  19. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
  20. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
  21. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
  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

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

PrisonerSix

I wonder if it will break $900million before the drawing.

THRIFTY's avatarTHRIFTY

Turning $2 Into $825 Million.

Bleudog101

Been waiting for this happen.   Salivating like Pavlov's Dog!

 

Certainly it'll go up again!

heisenberg991

Will it get to a billion by Sat night?

EnReval

I don't wanna play anymore but invested too much  huh time

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by heisenberg991 on Oct 28, 2022

Will it get to a billion by Sat night?

Not by Saturday, but if nobody hits Saturday it will be $1 billion or more for Monday's draw.

Mata Garbo

You know it's a great jackpot when you basically don't care about the amount of taxes that will be taken out upfront. This will be the greatest Halloween in history for one lucky player.

🥳🍸🥳

CDanaT's avatarCDanaT

Quote: Originally posted by PrisonerSix on Oct 28, 2022

I wonder if it will break $900million before the drawing.

Not sure about the $900 mark.....but $850 seems reasonable

Bleudog101

On the Louisville news noon time they posted the jackpots.   PB was wrong.   Looked up their facsimile # and sent them the correct jackpot.   On the next 1/2 hour they said 'we have an update, PB is now $825 million'  simultaneously they showed the KLC PB logo.

andl's avatarandl

Does PowerBall ever revise the jackpot total on a Saturday?

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

best of luck to all the players playing 

I still hope it hits in an anonymous state 

Think's avatarThink

Let's hope it set a record....with 52 rolls...looks like 40 is the current record...

Artist77's avatarArtist77

I love Halloween. Hope someone wins it on that day. 🎃

EnReval

If 40, that will be close to $2bil

2 more no winners shld be over

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