5th-largest lottery jackpot in world history
By Todd Northrop
Last night, the multi-state Powerball lottery game produced no top winner for the 33rd consecutive drawing, prompting lottery officials to raise the game's jackpot to an astonishing $1.4 billion.
A winner who chooses the cash option would receive a lump-sum $643.7 million — more than a half-billion dollars in cash!
It's the stuff that a lottery player's dreams are made of — holding a lottery ticket for an upcoming Powerball drawing with the potential to transform your life in every way.
Do you choose the annuity, which has an initial payment of $21 million and increases the payment every year until the final payment of $87 million in the 29th year, or do you opt for the lump-sum cash payment of $643.7 million all at once?
You can weight the tax consequences of that choice state-by-state by visiting the Jackpot Analysis page at USA Mega, a web site devoted to the Powerball and Mega Millions multi-state lottery games. The feature calculates both the initial withholdings and the final tax burden due at the end of the year, and even can show taxes calculated for different IRS filing statuses.
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.
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.
The winning numbers for Wednesday, October 4, 2023 were 9, 35, 54, 63, and 64, with Powerball number 1. The Power Play number was 2.
The Wednesday Double Play drawing results were 12, 30, 39, 64, and 67, with Powerball number 22. Double Play is a game option currently available in 18 states that lets you play your numbers in a second drawing for $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, 10 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from California, 1 from Colorado, 1 from Kentucky, 1 from New York, 2 from Pennsylvania, and 3 from Texas. (The 2 California winners each will claim a prizes of $1,220,123, due to the state's pari-mutuel payout formula.)
Three second-prize tickets — the one sold in Kentucky, 1 of the tickets sold in Pennsylvania, and one of the tickets sold in Texas — were purchased the Power Play option for an extra $1 per play, 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, as well as the official drawing videos, can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega. Lottery Post also publishes the complete list of Powerball Prize Payouts and the Powerball Double Play Prize Payouts.
The official drawing videos can also be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega.
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, 94 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 13 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 14 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $17,500 this drawing.
Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $208.1 million from its previous amount of $1.1919 billion and the cash value was raised by $95.7 million from its previous amount of $548 million.
For information about how these jackpot amounts are calculated, check out the Lottery Post feature video, How are lottery jackpots are calculated?
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 3rd-largest Powerball jackpot ever, and the 5th-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.
- 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
- Powerball: $1.4 billion, Oct. 7, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $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
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 upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 8th-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: $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: $643.7 million cash, Oct. 7, 2023 ($1.4 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $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
I've been playing the lottery for 20 years and the lottery officials took thousands of dollars from me for a hope and a dream like millions of us around the globe. I truly hope I win big some day!! If at worst I can get all my money back I put into it. I'm never giving up. I truly believe persistent is the key. Like my grandma always said "IF IT DOESN'T CHALLENGE YOU THEN IT WON'T CHANGE YOU" one of the truest statements I ever heard. Let that sink in folks.
Is this an omen?
been playing same set of ages n birthdays for a month
went to get a QP and PB gv me the last 5 nbrs I already played on a separate multi draw ticket
the new tkt just chins the 1st number to an 8 instead of a 5
the 8 represents sibling bday
now I gotta keep playing both sets
Don't get me started on omens this morning, Enreval
I just had a bad one pop up on me while browsing countrylifedreams.com a few mins ago
Just saying how QP chnged the 5 to an 8
the way life moves around is strange
we will nvr be able to figure it out
it's all abt timing
On the last drawing I went board and won $4! First Powerball win in nearly 3 years!
Let The Good Times Roll.
Although I never met her, I do know that "Grandma WildBill78" was a smart lady.
Persistence is definitely the key. How many times have you read about the multi-million dollar winner that said at the press conference "I've played the lottery for many years but I never won anything but small prizes".... All of the big winners have that in common. G5
What bank do billionaires put their money in?
JP Morgan Private Bank is especially known for their investment services, which makes them a great option for those with a lot of money in their account. With JP Morgan, each client is given access to a panel of experts.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2011/01/05/how-to-cash-a-1-3-billion-check/?sh=538c894e1b81
A winner who chooses the cash option would receive a lump-sum $643.7 million — more than a half-billion dollars in cash!
Well yes, but not really. Not after Uncle Sam takes his 37% cut. But even so, what's left for the winner after taxes are paid would still make them what the finance industry classifies as an "Ultra High Net Worth Individual". A UHNWI has 30 million or more in liquid assets available for investment. And for sure, there aren't many UHNWI's on the planet. G5
And unless you have the minimum amount of money required to put into your account, you wont be doing any business with The JP Morgan Private Bank. G5
Largest jackpot was in alignment with the eclipse season, i believe this one will go until the eclipse on 10/14.
yup, after taxes that is 238,169,000 million dollars, still an amazing amount of money to have. The other option is to go with the annuity payout for 1.4 bill which is 70 mill for 20 years. But a lot can happen in 20 years so most take the cash,
that's 4 more drawings, looks like it's jumping 200 mil each time. That would put it at 2.2 billion, it won't get that far,