The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.5 billion ahead of Saturday’s drawing, marking the game’s fifth-largest prize and the seventh-biggest in U.S. lottery history, after no one claimed the top award in the latest round.
The lump-sum cash option for the jackpot stands at an estimated $686.5 million before taxes. Wednesday night’s drawing produced no match for all six numbers: white balls 25, 33, 53, 62, and 66, plus the red Powerball 17. The Power Play multiplier was 4.
Still, several players scored big. Six tickets matched the five white balls, each worth $1 million, were sold in Connecticut, New York (three), Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Two others, from Arizona and Massachusetts, also hit the five white balls and doubled their prizes to $2 million apiece by adding the $1 Power Play option.
Additionally, 72 tickets won $50,000 prizes, and 14 claimed $200,000. Prize amounts in California are calculated differently based on sales and winners. In the separate Double Play drawing, available for an extra $1, a Florida ticket matched five black balls to win $500,000. Double Play offers chances at up to $10 million and is streamed live on Powerball.com after the main drawing.“
This jackpot is set to deliver the ultimate windfall,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO. “The jackpot grows with every $2 ticket sold, and a portion of each ticket supports local public programs and services. We encourage everyone to have fun and play responsibly.”
Saturday’s event will be the 45th drawing in this jackpot cycle, a record for Powerball. The prize was last hit on September 6, when tickets in Missouri and Texas shared $1.787 billion.
This is just the second instance of consecutive Powerball jackpots topping $1 billion; the previous pair came in 2023, with wins in California for $1.08 billion on July 19 and $1.765 billion on October 11.
A jackpot winner could opt for the $1.5 billion annuity, paid as a single lump sum followed by 29 yearly installments rising 5% annually, or the $686.5 million cash payout.
Powerball tickets cost $2 and are available in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings air live on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern from Tallahassee, Florida, with streams on Powerball.com.
More than half of ticket sales benefit the selling jurisdiction, and the game has raised over $37 billion for public causes since starting in 1992. Odds of any prize are 1 in 24.9, while hitting the jackpot stands at 1 in 292.2 million.
Among the largest U.S. lottery prizes, the current Powerball estimate ties for seventh place behind a $2.04 billion Powerball win in California in 2022, the recent $1.787 billion split, a $1.765 billion Powerball in California in 2023, a $1.602 billion Mega Millions in Florida in 2023, a $1.586 billion Powerball shared by California, Florida and Tennessee in 2016, and a $1.537 billion Mega Millions in South Carolina in 2018.