7th-largest jackpot in US history
By Todd Northrop
This week Powerball is the hot ticket, featuring a massive jackpot that is approaching a billion dollars.
The new high-water mark of $875 million for the current Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Wednesday night's $746.3 million grand prize.
It is the 7th-highest lottery jackpot in history, and the 3rd-largest Powerball jackpot ever.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $441.9 million — the 13th-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history. (See top 25 annuity and cash values below.)
Players looking to calculate 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.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever awarded was on Nov. 7, 2022, when one ticket sold in California won a $2 billion grand prize. The incredibly lucky winner was Edwin Castro, who claimed the prize in February of 2023, providing minimal public information about himself. What little is known about Castro comes from public filings, and includes the purchase of a house or two, as well as being the subject of dubious lawsuits that are unfortunately predictable these days.
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 Wednesday's drawing was $725 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $746.3 million.
Saturday's mammoth prize is the result of 36 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $20 million prize on Apr. 22.
Some states offer direct online sales, allowing players to bypass the store and purchase tickets from home. States that offer this ability include 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 Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2023 were 23, 35, 45, 66, and 67, with Powerball number 20. The Power Play number was 3.
The Wednesday Double Play drawing results were 42, 49, 54, 62, and 63, with Powerball number 21. 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 Wednesday, 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Florida and 1 from Indiana. Neither of the second-prize winners purchased the Power Play option. If they had, their prize would have been increased 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 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 Wednesday drawing, 36 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 $150,000, and 1 of the tickets was sold in California, where the prize was worth $117,977 this drawing.
Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $128.7 million from its previous amount of $746.3 million and the cash value was raised by $65 million from its previous amount of $376.9 million.
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. 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
Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 7th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. That position may rise before the drawing, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
Also shown is the current Mega Millions jackpot, which is simultaneously reaching historic levels — now sitting at 20th on the all-time rankings.
- Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- 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
- Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
- Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
- Powerball: $875 million, Jul. 15, 2023 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
- Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
- Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- 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: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
- 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
- Mega Millions: $560 million, Jul. 14, 2023 (24 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
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.
The upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 13th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Powerball: $997.6 million cash, Nov. 7, 2022 ($2.0401 billion annuity) - California
- 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
- Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
- Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
- Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
- Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Powerball: $477 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: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
- Powerball: $441.9 million cash, Jul. 15, 2023 ($875 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
- 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: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
Life changing generational wealth!
Powerball website has a countdown timer, just over 62 hours until the drawing.
How many more rollovers before the drawing I ask? Am thinking close to $950 millions...
A countdown timer is so 2010.
lol 62 is an interesting number.
its going to hit over $1.6 again. might go to $1.9 just like every 19 yrs another change in the world.
Dear Friends,
I hope it is evident to you as sure as the skies are blue, that there is no magical trick to winning the lottery.
It's not in the horoscope, it's not in your birthday dates, it's not in your family shoe sizes, it's not in manifesting a win or possessing it. It's not in trying to beat the system whatever that means.
It's not in all that crap and many more.
Winning the lottery is - let the drums roll - PURE LUCK.
If it was anything else the jackpot wouldn't get past the starting 20M.
Don't kill the messenger 🤣🤣
Trying my luck as well - will get two quick pick tickets for the Saturday drawing 😁
Buy Your Ticket(s) and get on the roller coaster for the ride of your life!
Grabbed 3( all QPs) this morning.. Considering getting another 2(chosen numbers) before the draw.....Sent the current figures to a few friends and peaked their interest, so that may require another purchase or 2.... Alot goin' on ......BUSY with choices.. Even the Mrs is getting into the act of pickin numbers for these last few draws(BTW....hers are terrible but I don't tell her that
, cause she wont make me any blueberry or apple bread) ...... WELL FOLKS, here's hoping that 1 or even a few of us are very fortunate this weekend.......Good luck to all 
Am in too - will get two QP and I always add the extra buck for the power play - Ii I hit second tier, there will be more left after the taxes 🤣🤣
The ride will start after my numbers hit. Before that am just eating my fruits and vegetables religiously 🤣🤣🤣
Already have started adding to the "No you ain't gettin any" list..
.. I see I have added a few from the last big jackpot runs... Folks need to be a lil nicer and not so "offended" all the time.
Am I on that list???