11th-largest lottery jackpot in history
By Todd Northrop
This week Powerball joins Mega Millions in the race to the top of historical lottery jackpots, featuring a massive top prize that is approaching a billion dollars.
The new high-water mark of $865 million for the current Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Monday night's $813 million grand prize.
It is the 11th-highest lottery jackpot in history, and the 5th-largest Powerball jackpot ever.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $416.1 million — the 18th-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.
In addition to Wednesday's Powerball drawing, lottery players across the United States are also vying for a $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, to be drawn tonight. The convergence of the two mammoth multi-state lottery games is causing a lottery ticket sales bonanza across the country.
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 house one, two, and three, 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 Monday's drawing was $800 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $813 million.
Wednesday's mammoth prize is the result of 36 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $20 million prize on January 3.
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 Monday, Mar. 25, 2024 were 7, 11, 19, 53, and 68, with Powerball number 23. The Power Play number was 2.
The Monday Double Play drawing results were 2, 14, 20, 28, and 64, with Powerball number 4. Double Play is a game option currently available in 22 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.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Monday, 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Florida and 1 from New York. 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 Monday drawing, 48 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 7 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 6 of the tickets was sold in California, where the prize was worth $19,101 this drawing.
Following the Monday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $52 million from its previous amount of $813 million and the cash value was raised by $25 million from its previous amount of $391.1 million.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday 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
Wednesday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 11th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States. That position is unlikely to change before draw-time, since the next-highest jackpot is more than $1 billion.
- 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
- Mega Millions: $1.1 billion, Mar. 26, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $865 million, Mar. 27, 2024 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $842.4 million, Jan. 1, 2024 (34 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
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 17
- Mega Millions: 8
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 18th-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
- 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
- Mega Millions: $525.8 million cash, Mar. 26, 2024 ($1.1 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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: $425.2 million cash, Jan. 1, 2024 ($842.4 million annuity) - Michigan
- Powerball: $416.1 million cash, Mar. 27, 2024 ($865 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
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 17
- Mega Millions: 8
Had #23 twice
just need 5 numbers
Not one # and two coastal states $1 million each.
You'd think California could @ least offer Double Play to their players!!
California cannot add Double Play because of their law that requires all lottery games to be paid out in a pari-mutuel formula. Double Play's fixed payouts is therefore incompatible with California's laws.
True enough, but that didn't stop me from sending an email about Doubleplay just the same and more importantly to give their players what they might want----On-line playing.
Will write a comment if and when they respond.
I matched 1 number on 3 lines and no Powerball.
Going to get 4 lines at lunch time.
Just need to figure out how to pick my numbers.
I've been playing for 20 years! I'm happy if I just matched the 5 Mega ball with Mega Plier and go off into the sunset. For the life of me I don't understand why people will still play after winning $10 million or $100 million jackpots from the lottery. I know several people who won millions of dollars but they continue to play. Don't they know they beat tremendous odds. Hey but their stories of people who got struck by lightning twice in the same spot. I seen some crazy odds of like 1 in a trillion from some math expert. So you go from 1 to 302 million to 1 to trillion in odds. I guess it even greater to do it again from when you originally tried 😬 But back to back huge winners do exist 🤷🏻♂️
Their computer system just emailed me a Submission and Non-Confidentiality Agreement.
Many years ago had same form that back then they mailed it to me for my suggestion, whatever that was. Something to do with scratch tickets is all I remember.
Best of luck to everyone on LP.
$525.8 Million dollars........Has such a nice ring to it... Just wanted to thank you all for your generous donations to the TN early retirement program. Appreciate it immensely.
thats it !!
keep on jinxing yourself LOL
Goodbye 1995 Honda Accord. Hello 2024 Nissan GTR NISMO
MM jackpot just boosted to 1.12 billion. 35-36-45-50-55 15 MB....good luck all.
and another $11.7 Million to the CASH VALUE
keep jinxing yourself, CD
Interestingly, it appears the official Mega Millions website got it wrong. The actual estimate for tonight's Mega Millions jackpot is $1.13 billion, not $1.12 billion. That's a difference of $10,000,000, so not insignificant.