4th billion-dollar lottery jackpot this year

By Todd Northrop

For the fourth time in 2023, a lottery jackpot has reached $1 billion or more — twice with the Mega Millions game, and now twice with Powerball.

The latest billion-dollar jackpot of the year comes after nobody won last night's Powerball multi-state lottery drawing, sending the Monday jackpot to heights that once seemed unattainable for a lottery game.

Monday's Powerball jackpot is currently estimated at $1.04 billion, with a lump-sum cash value of $478.2 million. And based on past multi-state lottery jackpots, that estimate may get bigger by the time the drawing kicks off Monday night.

To get to this size, the jackpot has been growing since it started on July 22 as a $20 million prize — now 31 consecutive drawings without a winner.

Monday's $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot is the 4th-largest in the game's history, and the 9th-largest lottery jackpot in world history. The lump-sum cash value of $478.2 million is the 12th-largest on the all-time lottery jackpot cash value rankings (see full list below). 

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 purchases of houses one, two, and three, as well as being the subject of dubious lawsuits that are unfortunately predictable these days.

Lottery players dreaming what all the cash will look like in their bank account after federal and state taxes are taken out can see an after-tax analysis of the current Powerball jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Powerball Jackpot Analysis page. Rather than simply showing the initial withholdings a lottery winner would face like other "copy cat" websites, the Jackpot Analysis page also includes the additional taxes that will be due after the initial withholdings, and will even allow players to see the taxes due under different filing statuses.

The rush of ticket sales over the next few days likely will propel the jackpot to an even higher amount before the drawing takes place Monday. Lottery Post and USA Mega will update the jackpot tallies displayed if such an increase occurs.

The quickest way to find the winning numbers after the drawing Monday will be by visiting USA Mega (www.usamega.com) at 10:59 pm Eastern Time (7:59 pm Pacific), when the winning numbers will be published minutes after they are drawn.

Players looking for the nearest official lottery retailer — or maybe just a different store without such a long line — are urged to use the free Lottery Places app available for iOS, Android, and Windows. The app can find lottery stores in every Powerball state and can search across state lines — something even official state lotteries can't do.

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.

In Saturday night's Powerball drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 7 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from Florida, 1 from Indiana, 1 from Maryland, 1 from Michigan, 1 from North Carolina, and 1 from Pennsylvania.

The two second-prize tickets sold in Indiana and North Carolina were purchased with the Power Play option, doubling their prizes 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.

The official drawing videos can also be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega.

The Power Play option is not available in California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered with the Power Play is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts. By law, California awards all lottery prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold within California and the number of tickets that won at each prize level in the state.

Also in Saturday's drawing, a total of 64 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. Of those tickets, 9 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 10 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $19,025.

The Powerball winning numbers for Saturday, September 30, 2023, were 19, 30, 37, 44, and 46, with Powerball number 22. The Power Play number was 2.

The Saturday Double Play drawing results were 2, 22, 46, 56, and 67, with Powerball number 25. 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.

Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $71.3 million from its previous amount of $968.7 million. The cash value was raised by $32.8 million from its previous amount of $445.4 million.

Powerball is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 pm 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 in world history.  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.

1. Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
2. Mega Millions: $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Florida
3. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
4. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
5. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
6. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
7. Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
8. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
9. Powerball: $1.04 billion, Oct. 2, 2023 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
10. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
11. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
12. Powerball: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
13. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
14. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
15. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
16. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
17. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
18. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
19. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
20. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
21. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
22. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
23. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
24. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
25. 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.

Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 6th-largest cash value in world 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: $794.2 million cash, Aug. 8, 2023 ($1.602 billion annuity) - Florida
5. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
6. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
7. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
8. Powerball: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
9. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
10. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
11. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
12. Powerball: $478.2 million cash, Oct. 2, 2023 ($1.04 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
13. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
14. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
15. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
16. Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
17. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
18. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
19. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
20. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
21. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
22. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
23. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
24. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
25. Powerball: $341.7 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire

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

• Powerball: 16
• Mega Millions: 9