Lump-sum cash option worth $774.1 million
By Todd Northrop
For the fourth time, someone in the state of California has purchased a winning ticket for a lottery jackpot worth more than $1 billion.
Last night, after 35 consecutive drawings without a winner, the multi-state Powerball lottery game finally produced a winner on the 36th try, resulting in a single ticket worth $1.7649 billion in 30 payments over 29 years, or $774.1 million in cash all at once.
After the historic jackpot run-up, the final tally landed Wednesday's jackpot ranked as the second-largest ever in world history, and the 7th-largest cash value of any jackpot in history. (The full top-25 list of annuity and cash values can be found below.)
It's the fourth time that someone in the state of California has purchased a winning ticket for a lottery jackpot worth more than $1 billion. Only one of those jackpots was shared with players from other states, meaning it's also the third lottery ticket sold in the state laying sole claim to a $1 billion+ jackpot.
The winning ticket was purchased at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, California, around 75 miles north of Los Angeles in Kern County.
One of the best things about winning the lottery in California is that there is no state tax on lottery prizes, with only federal taxes to pay. That means after all federal taxes are taken out, they will end up with either $1.1 billion over 29 years, or $487.7 million in cash.
Because California does not allow winners to claim anonymously, we will eventually find out who the big winner is. Hopefully they follow Lottery Post's guide for lottery winners and get a good plan together before claiming the prize.
The Powerball winning numbers for Wednesday, October 11, 2023, were 22, 24, 40, 52, and 64, with Powerball number 10. The Power Play number was 2.
The Wednesday Double Play drawing results were 3, 40, 51, 59, and 66, with Powerball number 2. 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.
Aside from the California winner, there were hundreds of other significant winners in the drawing.
9 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 2 from California, 2 from Florida, 1 from New York, 1 from Oklahoma, 1 from Pennsylvania, and 1 from Virginia. (The California winners each will claim a prizes of $760,111, due to the state's pari-mutuel payout formula.)
Out of all the second-prize tickets, only the tickets sold in Arizona and Pennsylvania 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.
Also, a total of 145 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. Of those tickets, 24 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 16 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $24,323.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time with the jackpot amount reset to its starting point of $20 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
Wednesday's Powerball jackpot won by one ticket sold in California is the 2nd-largest lottery jackpot in world history.
- Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- Powerball: $1.7649 billion, Oct. 11, 2023 (35 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: $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
The Monday Powerball jackpot ranks as the largest cash value in world 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
- Powerball: $774.1 million cash, Oct. 11, 2023 ($1.7649 billion annuity) - California
- 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: $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 cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
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Hmmm, well now.
Let the whining about California begin....
not happy, but not whining either
>> cure for PB hangover LOL <<
will be interested to hear about the persons tale of how they picked the numbers or how someone swindled 'em out of it!
Seriously kudos to the winner, you can thank the many players for your life of ease now :)
well I'm sure who ever the lucky bleepers are, I hope they choke on thar respective celebratory meal
$20M
Ahh... good.
Now I can go back to Not Playing again.
Something will be made up.
u might not get that info, he she or they might claim the jackpot as an LLC or Trust.
Are people not wrong to complain if every time the jackpot gets big and one state has an unfair advantage? Would it be fair if one state decided an entire election?
Me too. I'm happy for the winner and hope it all goes well for them.
I already have my MegaMillions ticket for Friday and will be picking up a Powerball for Saturday.
Can't win it if I'm not in it.
That is it, I am moving to California lol
People are wrong because no state has an unfair advantage. It's not the state winning, it's an individual. It's all about ticket volume. I live in Mass and we actually had 2 Mega Millions jackpot winners here this year within the span of a month. Prior to that it had been over 11 years I believe since the last Mega Millions jackpot winner. But, guess what, I still play every drawing even though it's not close to being the most popular game in this state. I also still play because I'm aiming to win for myself.....although my state will win with their ridiculous tax rate. But, that's another convo for another day on another forum.
not worth playing except in about three states.i bought 20 dollars worth every drawing and only got one number twice,so crooked.
Not only that but 3 of the last $1 Billion+ jackpots for the powerball have been won within like 70 or so miles of each other this year in the L.A. metro. Also, why do some states with a large population, like Texas, win so many few powerball jackpots?