Largest Powerball grand prize in more than a year surpasses half-billion mark
By Kate Northrop
The Powerball jackpot continues its reign as the highest lottery prize of 2025 after it reached an estimated $643 million following the drawing on Monday night.
After no one won the grand prize in the drawing on Aug. 18, the Powerball jackpot climbed well over the half-billion threshold, making it the biggest lottery jackpot this year so far.
Ever since Cheng "Charlie" Saephan won the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon on April 6, 2024, the multi-state game has produced 11 jackpot wins. Every single one of those wins has been under $600 million, with the second-highest Powerball prize this year coming in at $526.5 million won by a ticket in California.
The drawing on Wednesday will be the 35th drawing since a $204.5 million jackpot was hit in California on May 31, 2025.
This week's drawing offers a potential winner an estimated $643 million annuitized jackpot, paid out in annual installments over 29 years that increase by 5% each year, or a one-time lump sum cash value of $290.6 million before taxes.
You can weigh 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.
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 outside the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida. Oregon recently proposed rules that would limit ticket courier sales to those physically located in the state.
The winning numbers for Monday, Aug. 18, 2025 were 15, 46, 61, 63, and 64, with Powerball number 1. The Power Play number was 3.
The Monday Double Play drawing results were 6, 28, 38, 48, and 55, with Powerball number 23. Double Play is a game option currently available in 22 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 Monday, 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona and 1 from Texas.
None of the second-prize tickets were purchased with the Power Play option, which would have doubled their prize to $2 million if they purchased the $1 option.
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 multiplied 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 Monday drawing, 9 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 3 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 2 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $31,033 this drawing.
For information about how jackpot amounts are calculated, check out the Lottery Post feature video, How are lottery jackpots calculated?
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 23rd-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States.
- 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: $1.3259 billion, Apr. 6, 2024 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Oregon
- Mega Millions: $1.269 billion, Dec. 27, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
- Mega Millions: $1.128 billion, Mar. 26, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - New Jersey
- 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: $842.4 million, Jan. 1, 2024 (34 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
- Mega Millions: $800 million, Sep. 10, 2024 (27 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Texas
- 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: $643 million, Aug 20, 2025 (34 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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
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 37th-largest cash value in U.S. history, so we're actually just going to show the full top 37 list.
- 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: $621 million cash, Apr. 6, 2024 ($1.3259 billion annuity) - Oregon
- Mega Millions: $571.9 million cash, Dec. 27, 2024 ($1.269 billion annuity) - California
- 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: $536.6 million cash, Mar. 26, 2024 ($1.128 billion annuity) - New Jersey
- 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: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
- Mega Millions: $404.2 million cash, Sep. 10, 2024 ($800 million annuity) - Texas
- 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
- Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
- Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
- Mega Millions: $314.4 million cash, Sep. 21, 2021 ($431 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $292.9 million cash, Jan. 28, 2022 ($426 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $290.6 million cash, Aug. 20, 2025 ($643 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
* This is the best lottery news for a Wednesday.
And if someone wins depending on what state you live in, the check you will get will be no more than $185,000,000 which is absolutely absurd.
$184,996,000 more than what I have now.am ready
We moved from MN
To IA
from www.usamega.com
Good thing, that saves us a little more than $17.5 Million in Tax.
Moved to IA for work.
Quite the difference between the #2 all time Annuity jackpot and the one for tonight.
Same game, same starting point, same price per ticket
1 rollover difference and a mere $1,121,900,000 less in value
Yep it's not even a top 25 jackpot per the cash value.
My current buy ins at these after tax jackpots and ticket prices are $750,000,000 for Powerball and 2,500,000,000 for mega millions.
Maybe Todd can start a"Jokepot" list starting with this one as the number one Jokepot. There are plenty of other games to play until the Jokepots get high enough 🤑 To buy into
I'd like to see this posted when the cash/annuity are both in the Top 25. Article is premature in my opinion. The cash amount is underwhelming. I won't be playing this Saturday. But good luck to all who are
.
Depends on how many years you have left to play them. Your buy in points are a little too steep for you to get involved in very many of them down the road I believe. You need to play more other games and win one to sustain you until you see one grow to your acceptance level.
The 5% annual increase in payments makes the lump sum even less than it would be with constant annual payments. It pushes more money further into the future to be discounted for interest a longer time.
It makes you think that they are holding back alot of money from the jackpot.. it should have crossed a billion already
Goodbye 1995 Honda Accord. Hello 2026 Lotus Emira.
Got to my Cardiologist's office an hour early today. Took me back almost immediately and said going to stop @ a store on the way home to play Powerball and Mega Millions since I was feeling lucky. Normally don't go out of my way to play there...but it was on the way home and the LED jackpot sign beckoned me to play there!
Somebody from Cali gonna win tonight. I may have to move there.