9th-largest US lottery jackpot in history

By Todd Northrop

After a 33rd-consecutive drawing without a winner, the Powerball multi-state lottery game now features a jackpot that will provide multi-generational wealth to the lucky player who eventually wins it all.

After nobody won Saturday's $704.4 million grand prize, the Powerball jackpot increased to a staggering $747 million for Monday's drawing — the 9th-largest US lottery jackpot of all time.

But since most winners choose the lump-sum cash option, the $403.1 million cash value of tonight's Powerball jackpot is what many people pay close attention to. It's the 13th-largest cash value of any jackpot in US lottery history.

The complete top 25 list of United States lottery jackpot annuity and cash values can be found below. Readers will note that this marks the first time a US lottery jackpot needs to be greater than $500 million to be included in the top 25 list.

Players looking to understand 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.

Monday's mega boatload of cash is the result of 33 consecutive draws without a winner.  The run-up started as a $20 million prize on Nov. 21 — it has been over 2 months since Powerball last had a winner.

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.

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 $700 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had increased to $704.4 million.

The winning numbers for Saturday, February 4, 2023 were 2, 8, 15, 19, and 58, with Powerball number 10.  The Power Play number was 2.

Although nobody won the jackpot Saturday night, 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Florida, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from Oregon, and 1 from Pennsylvania.

None of the second-prize tickets were purchased with the Power Play option, which would have doubled the prize to $2 million. Power Play is available in all jurisdictions except California, where the fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payout regulations.

81 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000.  Of those tickets, 17 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 6 were purchased in California where the prize was $23,577 this drawing.  California prize amounts differ from the rest of the country because the state 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.

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 page at Lottery Post. The USA Mega page also includes the official drawing videos.

Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $42.6 million from its previous amount of $704.4 million. The cash value was raised by $23 million from its previous amount of $380.1 million.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Monday 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

Monday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 9th-largest lottery jackpot of all time.  The amount of the jackpot may rise even further by the time the drawing takes place, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates.

1. Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
2. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
4. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
5. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
6. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
7. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
8. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
9. Powerball: $747 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
10. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
11. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
12. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
13. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
14. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
15. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
16. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
17. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
18. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
19. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
20. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
21. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
22. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
23. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
24. Mega Millions: $516 million, May 21, 2021 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Pennsylvania
25. Mega Millions: $502 million, Oct. 14, 2022 (21 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Florida

For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 13
• Mega Millions: 12

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 new Powerball jackpot ranks as the 13th-largest lump-sum cash value jackpot in history.

1. Powerball: $997.6 million cash, Nov. 7, 2022 ($2.0401 billion annuity) - California
2. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
4. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
5. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
6. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
7. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
8. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
9. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
10. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
11. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
12. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
13. Powerball: $403.1 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($747 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
14. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
15. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
16. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
17. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
18. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
19. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
20. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
21. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
22. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
23. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
24. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
25. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California

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

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 11