The Powerball jackpot is up to $750 million, the fourth-largest in United States history and the biggest total this year.
The jackpot swelled after no one hit on the grand prize winning numbers that were drawn Saturday night — 4, 25, 52, 60, 66 and 05. To collect the grand prize, a player must match all six winning numbers, including matching the powerball.
Some players did win smaller payouts on Saturday night by matching enough number combinations to win between $1 million and $2 million.
The $1 million-winning tickets were sold in Florida, Illinois, New York (two), North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, according to the Powerball website. The $2 million-winning tickets were sold to players in Florida and Wisconsin.
Powerball numbers are drawn twice weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday. For the upcoming drawing on Wednesday for $750 million, a players’ chance of matching all six numbers is about 1 in 292 million.
“There are a lot of people imagining what they could do with a $750 million Powerball jackpot this week,” said David Barden, Powerball Product Group Chairman and New Mexico Lottery CEO, on Powerball’s website. “Where else could you win three quarters of a billion dollars for the price of a cup of coffee?”
Largest US Lottery Jackpots in History
- $1.586 Billion – Powerball | Won in January 2016, it was split by three winners, in California, Florida and Tennessee, with the Florida winner the last to claim.
- $1.537 Billion – Mega Millions | Won Oct. 23, 2018 with a ticket purchased in South Carolina, the winner, who claimed it anonymously, took the cash option of almost $880 million. It was the largest solo jackpot winner in history.
- $758.7 Million – Powerball | Another solo winner, this ticket was purchased on Aug. 23, 2017, in Massachusetts by a hospital worker.
Lump Sum of $465.5M or an Annuity
If there is a grand prize winner Wednesday night, they will have the option of either collecting their winnings as an annuity spread over 30 years or as an immediate lump sum — albeit at a reduced estimated amount of $465.5 million.
Were a player to select the immediate sum, they would have to pay 24 percent in federal withholding, which reduces the total amount by $111.7 million.
The winner will also owe another 13 percent in federal taxes — roughly $60.5 million — and depending how where the winning ticket was purchased and where the winner resides, there may be state taxes to pay.
The last grand prize Powerball jackpot winner occurred on Dec. 26, 2018, with the player a Brooklyn, N.Y., man who won $298.3 million. Since then, 25 drawings have transpired without a grand-prize winner.
Powerball tickets are available in 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2 per play. The drawings occur at 11 p.m. ET.
“Powerball dreams are viral,” Barden said on the website. “It’s easy to get excited about such a life-changing jackpot.”
