9th-largest US lottery jackpot in history
By Todd Northrop
After a 30th-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 Wednesday's $856.1 million grand prize, the Powerball jackpot increased to a staggering $925 million for Saturday's drawing — the 9th-largest US lottery jackpot of all time, and the 4th-largest Powerball jackpot in the game's history.
But since most winners choose the lump-sum cash option, the $432.4 million cash value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is what many people pay close attention to. It's the 15th-largest cash value of any jackpot in US lottery history, and the 9th-largest in the game's history.
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 economic conditions in the United States has caused fluctuating interest rates, 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.
The complete top-25 list of United States lottery jackpot annuity and cash values can be found below.
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.
Saturday's mega boatload of cash is the result of 30 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $20 million prize on July 22.
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, allowing players to bypass the store and purchase tickets from home. Players can see if they can play Powerball online by tapping the link. Depending on the physical location of the person, the link will either provide access via a licensed butler service or the official state lottery itself.
Butler services provide scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, such lottery ticket services were 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 Wednesday's drawing was $825 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $856.1 million.
The winning numbers for Wednesday, September 27, 2023 were 1, 7, 46, 47, and 63, with Powerball number 7. The Power Play number was 3.
The Wednesday Double Play drawing results were 10, 25, 51, 52, and 63, with Powerball number 1. Double Play is a game option currently available in 18 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 and a list of states that offer the add-on game.
Although nobody won the jackpot Wednesday night, 4 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California, 1 from Kansas, 1 from Maryland, and 1 from New York.
Unlike the other three second-prize winners, the California winner will be awarded a $796,425 prize. 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.
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.
Also in the drawing, 44 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 5 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 5 were purchased in California where the prize was $23,318 this drawing
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. The USA Mega page also includes the official drawing videos.
Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $68.9 million from its previous amount of $856.1 million. The cash value was raised by $32.2 million from its previous amount of $400.2 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 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.
- Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Florida
- 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
- Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
- Powerball: $925 million, Sep. 30, 2023 (30 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
- 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
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
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 15th-largest lump-sum cash value jackpot in 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: $794.2 million cash, Aug. 8, 2023 ($1.602 billion annuity) - Florida
- 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: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
- 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: $432.4 million cash, Sep. 30, 2023 ($925 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
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
Not playing any new numbers this time
y'all am tired of the games people play lol
Always enjoy the rankings list of jackpots!
So the Billion dollar FL winner has come forward. Lotto there wouldn't say whether they took the cash option or annual payments. What a stupid law they have...90 days of anonymity and that's it!
Not developing any emotional attachment to whatever amounts.
When the jackpot is 20M and when it's 2B the approach is the same.
Buying one QP ticket, throwing the power play on it, and going about my business of making money in other more sustainable ways.
Don't let the huge amounts get the better of you and prompt you to spend more than you can afford to, always remember that the last time you did that you did not win 🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️
I wish us all luck with the upcoming draws.
goes up high watch only one winner again
They took the cash option according to The Jackpot Winners with Retailers Information report available for download on The Florida Lottery's MegaMillions page. If it was claimed by a Trust, I doubt the general public will ever know the name(s) of the winner(s). The Jackpot winners Report might be updated after 90 days, but if it was claimed via trust that wont tell the public all that much.
Although The Florida Lottery certainly could, after 90 days I doubt they'll all of a sudden decide to make an announcement of by whom or how the prize was claimed. I'm sure they'd take the approach of "If the public wants to know that info, let them ask us for it, and then we'll provide it." Even then if it was claimed via trust or by a LLC, that'd make it very difficult (but not totally impossible) to learn who the lucky winner is.
While the 90 day anonymity law may appear stupid, it's more effective than most think it is. It provides the winner with more protection than appears on the surface while also helping The State of Florida sell lottery tickets.
And then there's this - after 90 days has gone by there wont be a ton of people trying to find out who won that Neptune Beach MegaMillions jackpot. It'll be long forgotten by most. Especially if there's a new big jackpot (like PowerBalls current jackpot) up for grabs. G5
Well said Just maybe!! It's so darn to hit anyway. I know that FL winner who finally came forward is so thankful. It beat tremendous odds
If you take a minute and think about it, the 90 day anonymous law in Florida has the word "COMPROMISE" written all over it.
90 days is the best solution for a bill that The Florida Legislature could pass and send to The Governor's Office for signature. There were those in The Legislature that wanted complete anonymousness for the winners, but there were also other Legislators who felt total anonymousness would hurt ticket sales. Neither side could have it totally their way. So they found a compromise with 90 days. And that works a lot better in terms of protecting winners than many think it does. G5
hope its in an anonymous state
Sorry Hearsetrax..............(un)fortunately it will be in TN
No one will win until EVERY possible number combination has been purchased.
Well darn....you heard it boys. It's time to pack it up.
the odds are against you rip off
It is only a rip off to you because you have never won. It is not a rip off to the FL winner who just came forward to claim their 1.5 B prize or CA Edwin Castro who just purchased his third mansion with his 1 Billion dollar win. There are many other who have won and continue to win millions of dollars all over the U.S. from all of these lotteries.
* You got that right Dick. I called it but CA only got 2nd prize. Come Saturday, we gonna clean up by taking the whole smear. You heard it here first. We taking what we put in plus other States money- we earned it. CA's been laughed at, mocked at- we taking financial retribution.
many have claimed their jackpot winnings as an LLC or Trust and after 90 days the site did not update that information. So anybody who wants to know the name etc. of the actual winner would have to go digging. Also, I noticed most winners? won by using quick-pick. I read between 70% and 80% of Power Ball and Mega Million winners won by quick pick. Both games have extremely high odds, luck plays a huge part.
Power Ball has 292,201,338 possible combinations and Mega Millions has 302,575,350 possible combinations.
Both games are designed for extremely high jackpots and for one extremely lucky winner.
I think we're going to be looking at a new record. Annuity rates are high and sales are low. I think it could go the distance. Normies look at the annuity only anyways... People really do not understand how lottery tickets work.
2.5 bil advertised, 1.2 bil cash. Single winner. GA or TN. Scratch that FL or CA
I'd love to see Ole California Edwin win it again and buy more Hollywood mansions. Maybe with his newfound wealth he could travel east and purchase the Biltmore.
Well here's to me winning here in Cali.
Going to take my GSA to Pilot and play this and MM too. Dog gets to get and hopefully can catch up on the latest gossip!
tic tic tic tic tic
True that many MM and PB jackpot winners have claimed via an LLC or trust.
If a winner waited until just before the deadline to claim the cash option, invoked the Florida privacy law, and also hired a lawyer to set up a trust or LLC for them, then I have to believe their name will be very hard to come by. Especially if they hired their lawyer to act as their trustee to administer the trust. No reputable lawyer would ever compromise their clients confidentiality.
Even if The Fla Lottery did update the report after 90 days all anybody would see is the name of the trust or LLC. Because they haven't updated the report after 90 days in the past, that tells me they wont volunteer/divulge any info simply because 90 days has passed. I suspect they'll simply wait and see if someone asks them for it. If after 90 days someone did ask for winner info, they'd respond to the request with whatever info they have. G5
From what I've read in florida, when an entity like a trust makes the claim they only require a trustee name, which can be the lawyer.
OTOH on Powerball, have forty four entries in the Powerball First Millionaire of the Year contest. Don't know about other states, but here they pick 25 and those go in the national pot to win a trip to NYC for NY Eve drawing. Over 1/2 my entries were from dumpster diving, myself and next door neighbor gives me his to register as well. If I were smart I'd update the phone to snapshot the lengthy #'s and be much faster.
It's at $960million now!
Jackpot raised to $960 million with cash option of $441.4 million.
The top-25 rankings did not change.
$441 MILLION DOLLARS........ Has such a nice ring to it !!!
Good luck to all LP members this coming Saturday.
May Lady Fortune lay her mischievous smile and blessings upon one of us here at the LP
Power Ball and Mega Millions "In California only, all prizes are pari-mutuel, payouts are based on sales and the number of winners. "
Best of luck to all that play on here! MEGAMILLIONS & POWERBALL! Whoever hits on either I truly hope you are able to do good things in life. Take care of yourself and help those in your community. I would put it in a trust or llc take care of some of my family to get them out of debt and in the green out of the red. Help those in need around my local community and travel via travel trailer in the off season winter weather months!
open the door to charity and those without, with great caution, as you never know whos listening or watching
So what exactly does it mean if you win 441 million dollars? (The lump sum cash option)
It means that you will instantly become what the financial industry classifies as an ultra high net worth individual. The financial industry measures people by their net worth. Being an ultra high net worth individual also means that you will qualify for special treatment like access to discounted fees, special rates, IPO's, Private Equity and access to investor events that are closed to most people.
Ultra high net worth individuals have liquid assets of at least 30 million dollars. They are highly sought after by personal wealth managers. In essence you are a member of the worlds super rich because there are not many people on the planet that have at least 30 million in liquid assets. Rich people know they cant possibly manage their money by themselves because the more money you have the more time consuming it becomes to properly manage and not squander it.
If you win the jackpot, you immediately entered into a financial world that you very likely have little to no knowledge of. You may not think so, but you definitely are going to need a lot of help. G5
The reason I play the lottery is to be able to take care of myself and my family first.
I feel like there is an unspoken obligation with the lottery to help others in the community once someone hits the big one.
The same obligation is not expected of people who work hard and achieve millionaire status. I think it's because the lottery is considered "free money" 😁😁
Having said that, helping others in the community is a good thing but it needs a lot of care (being able to do it anonymously is great) it defeats the point of working so hard to claim the winning anonymously and then be all over the place like Santa helping everybody.
If I win the big one, I will touch the lives of so many people.
All that you have said is true and I totally agree with that. 441M is a huge sum of money. 278M after the taxes, is still a huge sum of money.
I always ask myself, how much is enough? Is there an end to wanting more and more.
If somehow you could spend 100K a month for ever, that is beyond anyone's wildest imagination.
Now am speaking for myself, I don't want to complicate my life, I don't want to stay up wondering how my investments are doing, is the dip in the market going to wipe my net worth etc. I don't want to deal with financial managers, the whole crew, I want none of that.
I will take my 278M (after tax) put in in 12 month government treasury bills which is currently 5.46% a year. That gives me 15M before tax and 9.5M after tax.
I don't have to pay any financial managers or a firm, I don't have to worry about dips in the market, and most importantly I don't need 9.5M every year.
When I have 278M that I can invest in a zero risk investment, why do I want to push my luck.
I know we are all different, some thrive is wanting a busy life, some get a thrill out of having people answer to them, they want to get busy with zoom calls with investors and hedge fund managers and all that is ok, there is nothing wrong with that.
I just want the path of least resistance 🤣🤣🤣
But you are right on point GiveFive - if someone wants to take the complicated investor route, they will need all that help.
When you hold an investment for at least a year, your fed tax rate is 20% instead of 37% so it would be 12 million after a year.
Another thing to consider is municipal bonds, there is no federal or state tax.
I think you are confusing the profit made from selling an asset called Capital Gains from interest earned from T.Bills and bonds.
If you hold an asset for more than one year, the profit earned from disposing the same after one year (capital gains) are taxed at a max of 20%
For T.Bill and Bonds, the interest paid out is treated as normal income and are Federally taxed as such up to 37% max. The same however are exempt from both State and Local Income tax.
Municipal bonds are another opportunity, however they don't have the zero risk associated with lending to Uncle Sam.
States and Local Government can default on their bonds.
From what I've seen it depends on how you buy the bond. If you buy it when its issued and hold it until maturity, its taxed as income. But if you buy it on the secondary market and hold it for a year its taxed as capital gains at 20%.
I agree on municipal bonds, its riskier.
We learn every day - I did not know that, thank you for the insight now I know.
I believe when one uses the secondary market one has to engage a brokerage. There will be give and take in that transaction. But the lower tax margin could offer a relief from the fees.
Thanks once more for that insight.
No winners
It rolled to $1.04billion!
It looks like the sales might be low. Its going up in such small amounts. Might be another 2B
Don't forget the cash value P-6..........$478,200,000.
Had the 46 and the 22 on 1 line...$4 winner...more free tickets
QP w/multiplier gv 37&46 + 22=$40 got my $ back
lots of winners on the other prizes.
no currently both
Power Ball and
Mega Millions takes about 30 to 31 drawings for the Jackpot to reach 1 billion.
but back in 2022
it took 38 drawings for the Jackpot to reach 1 billion, then another 4 for a total of 42 for
the Jackpot to reach 2.04 billion.