8th-largest lottery jackpot in world history
By Todd Northrop
Last night, the multi-state Powerball lottery game produced no top winner for the 39th consecutive drawing, prompting lottery officials to raise the game's jackpot to an astonishing $1.23 billion.
A winner who chooses the cash option would receive a lump-sum $595.1 million — more than a half-billion dollars in cash!
It's the stuff that a lottery player's dreams are made of — holding a lottery ticket for an upcoming Powerball drawing with the potential to transform your life in every way.
Do you choose the annuity, which has an initial payment of $18.5 million and increases the payment every year until the final payment of $76 million in the 29th year, or do you opt for the lump-sum cash payment of $595.1 million all at once?
You can weight 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.
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 houses one, two, and three, as well as being the subject of dubious lawsuits that are unfortunately predictable these days.
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 out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.
The winning numbers for Wednesday, April 3, 2024 were 11, 38, 41, 62, and 65, with Powerball number 15. The Power Play number was 3.
The Wednesday Double Play drawing results were 10, 44, 53, 60, and 63, with Powerball number 13. 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 Wednesday, 9 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from California, 1 from Georgia, 1 from Maryland, 2 from Massachusetts, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from South Carolina, and 1 from Washington. (The 2 California winners each will claim a prizes of $1,622,808, due to the state's pari-mutuel payout formula.)
None of the second-prize tickets was 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 multplied 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 Wednesday drawing, 81 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 17 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 12 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $19,682 this drawing.
Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $98.8 million from its previous amount of $1.1312 billion and the cash value was raised by $47.8 million from its previous amount of $547.3 million.
For information about how these jackpot amounts are calculated, check out the Lottery Post feature video, How are lottery jackpots are calculated?
The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday 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
Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 4th-largest Powerball jackpot ever, and the 8th-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: $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: $1.23 billion, Apr. 6, 2024 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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
- 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 9th-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: $595.1 million cash, Apr. 6, 2024 ($1.23 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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
- 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
WOW... me first! Yay!
Wait a minute... whadya mean NO FREE STEAK for being first here?
Awwwww <snip!>
If no Saturday win, definitely will be #6
You watch: PB & MM will be merged into one huge national lottery with a matrix of 5/85 & 1/45. It's just a matter of time before 1 billion+ jackpots become "normal" and not enticing enough.
The roll over amounts seems low
In the top 9 for the Annuity or Cash Value......... Very nice ! ! ! Good luck to all of us
Let the games purchasing begin !!!!
I'm just happy my 15 finally hit. I play the same exact numbers for both MM and PB and that 15 has been elusive for a while.
I am just glad it wasn't the 23 again
Humm them you'll be looking at $3-4 billion jkpots
doubt they will ever merge
If you look at the stats on USAMega, 15 is the least picked Powerball number so congratulations on getting it.
I'm actually surprised people weren't saying the same thing about #4 last year. It hadn't come out for over 6 months. Then, when it finally appeared it appeared about 9 times within 3 months. And I believe 4-5 of those times were within March of 2023 when it finally showed up after being missing for 6 months. And I believe last I checked, it has appeared 15-16 times over the course of the past year.
It's been a long drought. The 15 hit in Powerball in January, and that was after nearly a year. I just need the 15 to hit again Saturday....along with the other 5 numbers. Although, I'll be more than happy just hitting the 1st 5 with the Power Play. Good luck to you!
Goodbye 1995 Honda Accord. Hello 2024 Ferrari F8
rather have a nice 1966 - 1973 Lamborghini Miura
9 second place winners and no one spent the extra $1.
My pool did not win with the number 23.
But the good news is we get to try again.
I like this pool. I paid only once to join and have been involved in several Mega Millions and Powerball draws.
Both games have surpassed the $1 billion mark.
Let's not forget California does not have Powerplay option.
I'll never know if they took my suggestion to @ least add Double play to their Powerball, but like Todd said it is not in their laws to allow that. Makes about as much sense as Nevada not offering lotteries because it is against their Constitution. Powerful lobbyists I'd venture to say from the one arm bandits no doubt.
I am a firm believer that winning the jackpot is all about luck.
However, you have to do something for the luck to find you.
That's why I buy my lottery ticket for every draw and hope that one day luck will find me.
Here is to wishing all of us who believe in luck a lucky draw.
To be fair, the same people that don't spend the extra $1 are the same people that would sit at a Blackjack table that pays 6:5 on a blackjack.
💰 best of luck to those playing 💰
Crazy to see Powerball roll 40 times and "only" get to 1.23 billion while the top is also 40 rolls for the 2 billion drawing. Good luck to us all on Saturday. I need a new truck and a modest house baby! I just want the million with powerplay!
The Saturday jackpot was raised to $1.3 billion, with a cash option of $608.9 million. Top 25 rankings are unchanged.
More cash
Gotta love that !!! Good luck to all participants.
"The Saturday jackpot was raised to $1.3 billion, with a cash option of $608.9 million. "
I'm wondering if they managed a typo for the cash value. If the cash:annuity ratio stayed the same it would be $628.9 million cash. If it's really $608.9 that's a pretty big change in interest rates, and a fairly big coincidence that the difference is an even $20.0 million. The TX website hasn't posted the worksheet yet, but that should give us the answer if MUSL doesn't make a change first.
It's very common, and in fact rarely is the cash and annuity adjusted proportionally. Many times the cash value changes but the annuity is not adjusted. Keep in mind they are both estimates, and we are strictly speaking here about numbers being adjusted prior to the drawing.
Best of luck to all that play on this awesome platform on the interwebs! Got my qp for megamillions powerball megabucks for the weekend ahead!
good bye unemployment, hello $1mil dollars, I am still working for this amnt ($1mil) after taxes $650K
You'll be taxed at the highest rate - 37%
So you'll have 630K after taxes.
Am right there with you, but I always have the PP on so that's going to be 2M for me and 1,260,000 after paying Uncle Sam.
chatGPT gave me these numbers:
10 36 40 56 62 6
33 40 51 54 61 17
17 21 46 47 69 23
3 14 19 39 58 21
11 40 49 50 53 18
1 11 14 24 57 22
1 11 38 54 55 1
30 38 57 61 62 1
2 7 19 20 65 8
46 48 50 61 62 18
1 5 41 50 54 15
ok, well... how about THESE for MM Tonight... and Powerball tomorrow night
03-16-17-30-33, 18
03-16-20-33-46, 08
03-08-12-45-55, 08
13-16-19-30-39, 18
01-03-14-17-48, (not 28, but maybe 10 or 18)
been playing these numbers for ... a long time... I think they might hit soon...
if not tonight or tomorrow... maybe Monday Tuesday or Wednesday...
but... maybe posting them just jinxes them...
I dunno.
seems ok... good luck on those.
Beep! Beep!!
Beep! Beep!!
I betcha this jackpot will reach 1.300000125 billion. I know I'm going out on a limb here but, I had to say it.
If I'm correct in my prediction ....... y'all gotta try my traditional luncheon of liverwurst sandwich on rye with arugula tomato red onion Dijon mustard and 3 gherkin pickles and a bowl of sweet potato chips. Don't forget the sasparilla, birch beer, moxie or cream soda to wash it all down with.
Now if I'm incorrect in my prediction y'all still gotta try the aforementioned traditional lunch of mine
Peace
The Shag
I forgot to include the Swiss cheese.
Then we will have to split the win 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
you were kinda right the jackpot is 1.3 billion now.
I was only joking ... I had already read about the increase to 1.3 billion . .. so I made a fake bet that the jackpot would increase by 125 dollars.
PS : the pace that mega millions is currently on by the time it reaches 40 draws it would be a multi billion jackpot.
Peace
The Shag
I wouldn't call it an adjustment, but it's not at all rare for the cash:annuity ratio to remain the same from one drawing to the next. According to the worksheets on the TX website the last two runs have consistently kept the same ratio for 3 consecutive drawings before changing for the next 3 drawings. What's unusual is a change as big as this one. The annuity estimate was increased by $70 million, while the cash value only increased by $13.8 million. We've seen mistakes in some of the reported information recently, and what's definitely rare is a change that result in a value that ends with the same two numbers.
As or the times that the cash value is adjusted while the annuity remains the same, that's seems to have become increasingly common, and IMHO far less likely than simply having the same two number. A modest increase in the sales estimate, and therefore the cash, is certainly believable, but when a lower interest rate requires more cash to generate the advertised annuity the sales estimates somehow seems to always go up exactly enough to support the annuity. Logic says (probably demands) that sometimes when the interest rate goes down they won't magically sell enough extra tickets to fund the advertised annuity.
Alright they can hv $20k
I am a bit more partial to the $608 Million CASH Value aspect.....Should be able to get that Bugatti Chiron SS or the Chiron Pur Sport fairly easy....Or both
It looks like even as the PB jackpot grows, MM still has a loyal fan base. I am one of them.
Or to put it in a better way, I buy a $3 ticket for both PB and MM regardless of the amount to be won.
Wanted to buy a rescue PB ticket this morning. He didn't have change for $100 so went to ATM and came back. He said hold on, something is not right. Turns out it was for last Wednesday. I thanked him and said I would probably not have noticed it.
Coupon on-line so bought a PB with Double play @ another store prior to above mentioned comment.
Does anyone think it might get bumped up a bit for tonight?
I wouldn't be surprised if it's bumped for tonight. Hard to guess how much....
In my case, I'll be looking for the 300+ variant... 😉
I didn't match anything on MegaMillions last night, but I did buy a ticket for Tuesday's drawing today. I'm trying another method to pick my numbers and hope it might make a difference. I'm combining selecting my own numbers with randomness and hope that gets me some better results.
Last minute predictions :
1. The final 'pot will end up totalling 1 billion ..... 3 hundred 33 million, 3 hundred 33 thousand, 3 hundred 33 dollars.
2. There will be some holdup in getting the winning numbers ....... 8 to 10 hours wait.
3. I will skip the liverwurst sandwich for one night only.
4. Wrestlemania 40 tonite and tomorrow night ..... placing my bets now.....
5. Decided that I will indeed have my liverwurst sandwich with all the accompaniments ....
6. There will be one ..... possibly two and an outside shot of three winning tickets. And there will be thirteen to seventeen 1st runners up of which four will have the power play.
7. One winning ticket will be from LotteryPost.
You heard it here first folks! 😉
The Shag
I too did not match any number on MM for the last three draws. Have not matched any number on PB as well this week. Hoping that tonight I match something.
This week I played multi draw. Got one line for 3 different draws for PB and one line for 2 different draws for MM. So that's $15 for PB and MM for the week. I have each draw covered for the week.
On Thursdays and Sundays I play lucky for life.
My state discontinued Powerball without the powerplay when Double Play came along. Now you have to spend $3 for PB and another $1 if you want the DP. Is that how your state handles it too?
Hahaha you should try the Manifestation crew.
I am taking possession of #7
7. One winning ticket will be from LotteryPost.
I will have tonights PB jackpot winning ticket 😁
They say that the universe listens to us, so here we go.
Is this Idaho by any chance??
No, we can choose $2 plain PB, or add $1 for either PP or DP or give them $4 for both. Did that on last ticket purchased either.
We still cannot do DP on line however.
One final word .... OLIVELOAF.
1st runner up final word ..... SPAM.
2nd runner up final word ...... DEVILED HAM.
3rd runner up final word ..... Engelbert Humperdinck.
Here is the rumored winning number sequence for tonight's Powerball drawing : 1-3-13-26-39 *23*
You read it all here first!
The Shag
Yeah I'm in Idaho. I was wondering if the few states that added Double Play all rip off their customers like Idaho does. Glad it's just here.
How can I get ChatGPT to give me Powerball numbers?
Maybe put in last 100 number draws or 1000
Where are the numbers? Some trickery going on, every time PB gets this high, they late
If you look at their website it says "delayed" My guess someone won .
Unless I win tonight, I find this delay shady lol
Yes again, news says 1 state hasn't finished predraw procedures
California I bet, we will see, they had all day to get it right
The Powerball website posted:
"Tonight, we have one participating lottery that needs additional time to complete required pre-draw procedures, which have been enacted to protect the security and integrity of the Powerball game".
Hi HoLeeKau. I'm still in Idaho and wishing we had some better state jackpot games.
Delayed with over a billion dollar jackpot once again. Gives it's rigged argument ppl more ammo.
It's not rigged ..... It's just predetermined .... kinda like pro wrestling.
Speaking of which last night was night 1 (of 2) of WrestleMania..... did anyone place any bets out there?
Come on 22 for the powerball number. Got five easy picks and some how got 22 three times
if those. are the numbers that come out....
my prediction (and believe me, it'd probably be the same if any of my number combos came out or anyone else's on here)...
would be a lot of envious folks....
Normally I post mine on FB on the day of the draw (always the same number combos)
And my fear would be... if mine ever DID come out ... and all my FB Friends 'Scoffed' and wouldn't play them for me... they'd start flame warring me and try to have me cancelled.... all the way...
I dunno maybe its a stupid fear... but... if it was ME, and I predicted correctly the winning numbers on a given night...
what if any of those envious folks start accusing me of being Another Eddie Tipton?
I mean... people are bat snip crazier nowadays...
You know what?
if they don't announce anything tomorrow...
it may be the EBS and the 10 days of Darkness/Disclosure...
before they do the draw...
then... maybe Shag's numbers will come out...
just spit balling here...
Integrity Definition: Not Drawing Numbers At Specified Time When Jackpot Rises Beyond What Peons Can Comprehend.
Actually I Am In Maryland, and We Too Have Both Power Play And Double Play. Maryland Is The First And Only State that Won The Double Play Jackpot Of $10,000,000, since the Double Play Started and it the ticket EXPIRED!!! So I Do Not Know About Ripoffs, Just The Luck Or unlucky In This Case of The Draw.
If anyone of y'all happen to see a Robin in your yard tomorrow ..... It could mean you won the Powerball jackpot.
I don't want to get political and all but seriously folks TAXES who needs them?
Also just out of curiosity .....would a bleudog,not bleudog101, eat bleu cheese or chicken cordon bleu or a blue plate special or bleu eggs and ham? This enquiring mind wants to know.
"2. There will be some holdup in getting the winning numbers ....... 8 to 10 hours wait. "
Well, you got one prediction at least partly right. Still can't tell how close you were on the length of the delay. I'll also give you extra credit for specifying a problem with getting the winning numbers and not just a general problem with reporting results.
"If you look at their website it says "delayed" "
As others have said, that indicates an issue that keeps them from posting winning numbers. Typically you see the numbers almost immediately, and the next jackpot is reported as "Pending" until they verify thee number of winners.
Numbers are up. I had 6 lines, matched one number each on 3 of them. Didn't match any Powerballs.
I'll check in the morning to see if it rolls again.
well seems like some bleep/s in the state Oregon took home the big winner from last night
Thanks for the info. For some reason powerball.com is blocked on my computer and won't come up on my Android either. The block just ended for Mega millions.
Glad no individual state held up the data/security stuff to Iowa as happens infrequently!
Only one jackpot winner in the state of OREGON
but the results were delayed
Yeah they're pretty bad. I got a survey a few months ago asking if I'd miss 5 Star Draw. I replied that I'd cheer if it went away. So hopefully they will come up with something better that's not a $5 ticket like 5 Star is.
I drive over to Oregon every couple of months to get Powerball tickets for $2, and buy their Megabucks if the jackpot is getting high. I never win more than a free ticket on that one.
Yeah, I can't imagine missing 5 Star Draw! lol I've never even played it.