By Todd Northrop
Coming into this weekend there were two big jackpots generating lots of excitement and ticket sales; going out there's just one — and it's enormous.
When Mega Million's $393 million jackpot was won by a single ticket sold in Illinois Friday night, the nation's attention shifted to Powerball's monster jackpot, which had increased to $371.1 million by draw time.
The Powerball numbers drawn Saturday night were 20, 24, 26, 35, and 49, with Powerball number 19 and Power Play number 2.
A short time later when it was determined that there were no tickets sold matching all six numbers, the new jackpot for the Wednesday drawing was set to an estimated $430 million, with a lump-sum cash option of $273.4 million.
Powerball has been incredibly hot this year. The current jackpot run-up comes on the heels of another run-up that culminated in a $447.8 million jackpot won with a ticket sold in California in June. That prize was claimed in July by Jeff Lindsay, who requested minimal publicity.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever awarded was on January 13, 2016, when three tickets from California, Florida, and Tennessee shared a $1.6 billion grand prize. The Florida and Tennessee winners claimed their prizes quickly, but the California winner waited about six months to claim their share.
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.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Saturday, 5 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from California, 1 from Illinois, 1 from New York, and 1 from Texas.
None of the second-prize tickets were sold with the Power Play option. If they had, their prize would have been doubled to $2 million.
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.
The California prize pool for second prize was $1,621,680 this drawing, so that cash will be split by the two California second-prize winners, who will receive $810,840 each.
Across the nation, 64 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 5 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 9 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $13,906 this drawing.
Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $58.9 million from its previous amount of $371.1 million. The cash value was raised by $39.9 million from its previous amount of $233.5 million.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, second-prize winners have their prizes automatically doubled to $2 million, while all other non-jackpot prizes are multiplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. All prize payout amounts, including Power Play multipied prizes, can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.
Powerball is played in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are 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 12th-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: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
- Powerball: $430 million, Aug. 16, 2017 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $393 million, Aug. 11, 2017 - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
- Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
- The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
- Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 17
- Mega Millions: 7
- The Big Game: 1
The Big Game is the original name of Mega Millions, from the game's first drawing on Sep. 6, 1996 through May 14, 2002. The name was changed to Mega Millions starting with the May 17, 2002 drawing.
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 11th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- 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
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $273.4 million cash, Aug. 16, 2017 ($430 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
- Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
- Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 9
Had a feeling she'd swell after the Mega Millions was won. Keep rolling over baby, next time it'll be 100 million more, give her time to build up momentum.
Received an email the KY Lottery--$8 won on-line. BettOr (sic) than nothing.
Good luck to all players!
Ka-ching!
Daddy needs the money!
Let's see if it will bounce up to half a billy{$500m} by next draw, now that MM has been won.
Meh...
Maybe I'll buy a ticket if it makes it into the top 10 and I go to Delaware for my LFL tix.
Either way I hope there's more then 1 winner...maybe 10, that's a good #
meh......
after a disappointing MM dud, I'll wait out this next one
A dud? We've come a long way when a $393 million jackpot is a dud. I'm definitely going to risk $2 for a chance at $430 million. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
I had wished that there's one Powerball jackpot winning ticket sold so that way we'll have back to back jackpot winning tickets for the first time since Friday March 31st and Saturday April 1st, 2017. I hope the Powerball jackpot continues to roll.
Todd,
Just trying to imagine the news headline.
"Owner of kick-azz lottery website wins huge jackpot"
That would get some attention...ya think ? LOL !
It would be icing on the cake when one of us LP members hits the JACKPOT!
Who wouldn't want to be contacted by Todd and asked to conduct an interview? Bring it on baby, I'm ready for a big win!
CNBC - MSN Money just gave props to USAMega twice in their article about the lottery and the taxes that are paid on winnings. Nothing the members here don't already know, but it was kind of exciting to see USAMega mentioned. Congrats Todd!
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/heres-the-tax-bill-on-that-dollar393-million-mega-millions-win/ar-AApVGZp?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp
I NEED this
Most jackpot winners are almost always 95% of the time or higher, close to a large body of water.That puts the Bay Area's chances right up there with the best of them. You heard it here first .
* When l hit it, l will leave a large tip on the table,then it's bye bye Broadway.
USAmega is where I get my stats from. Has helped me win more often. Love that site!
It is nice indeed! Thanks for mentioning it.
Attention or not, I'll take it.
I'm working on the numbers and will buy some tonight.
I am ready to be among the 1 % or close to it. I will live in the appropriate community of the rich.
Since I am a Californian I will have $165,133,600.00 after all taxes are paid. Definitely rich.
Not a billionaire but still wealthy.
I think that I am going to play just one line with powerplay and see if I can win a prize that way. You never know maybe I will get $50,000 or $2 million.-weshar75
$2 buys a lot of dreams.
Got to be in it, to win it!
Me, the day after winning instead of having to wake at 3 A.M. to get to work by 6!
Phone conversation will go like this:
me: Hi, I'm calling in rich.
boss: your calling out sick?
me: Not sick! RICH. I won't be in to work today! Or for that matter....any other day!
Enough to buy a condo in San Francisco.
You could buy a street at the bargain price of $90,000.
$2.00 ??? You're not gonna spring for the extra buck and get the power play??? 2 million ain't a bad 2nd prize.
With the powerplay wouldn't it be 100k+ to 2 million? Either way that's still a very nice hit if you don't take down the jackpot.
Todd and Redd55, San Francisco is definitely a strong contender on my list of places to live in. Thank You for mentioning it. The more I think about it the more I like it.
ROLL BABY ROLL, GOT MY TICKETS FOR WEDNESDAY IM Thinking IT WILL GO 465 MILLIONS BY DRAWN TIME....
SF can be beautiful, but there is NO free parking almost anywhere in the city. All, if not most of the roads are one-way, you have to drive 4-5 blocks to make a u-turn. Panhandlers just about everywhere you look. Great seafood though, especially if you love crab. Personally : nice place to visit but give me the Fremont Hills/Mission Peak area any day of the week.
And hitting 2nd place is 25 times more likely than winning the jackpot. And all other lower tier prizes are, at minimum, doubled with up to 5X being possible.
On the other hand, many players are focused on winning the jackpot, and care little about the lower tier prizes. It's the main reason Mega Millions, if the matrix change goes as planned, will also feature an optional (some lotteries may choose not to participate) Just the Jackpot option; 2 plays for $3 for only a chance at the jackpot with no other prizes available.
In my view, the Just the Jackpot option should include 2nd place as well to avoid potential negative PR that will undoubtedly arise when a player hits 2nd, which is far more likely than jackpot, and the media goes to town with headlines, such as, "Mega Millions Refuses to Pay Player Who Hit All 5 White Balls.", "Player Cheated Out of $1 Million in Mega Millions", etc...
Already, many players are skeptical of the big jackpot games being rigged; not paying out. With Just the Jackpot option, Mega Millions really won't pay out for all lower tier prizes. Time will tell whether the option pays off or is a PR nightmare.
With all that said, I always add the Megaplier and Powerplay options. I'd be happy to win $2 million in PB or $2-5 million in MM. If anything, in some ways, it's better to hit 2nd than 1st when the jackpots are extra large, though, of course, most every player would love to hit the big one.
Well, that's good for you and others but I live in a state where the second and lower tier prizes suck. And there are no megaplier or powerplays. So, what happens if/when sales drop in the state with 39 million people who buy the most tickets?