Powerball Jackpot Pushes Past $700 Million

The advertised jackpot for the next draw on Wednesday night has been set at $716 million, although ticket sales could leave the final figure short of that amount or nudge it even higher. The cash option is estimated at $307.2 million.

It ranks as the 14th-largest jackpot in Powerball history, just behind the $731 million payout that went to ‘The Power Pack’ lottery pool from Maryland in January 2021. A couple of other previous wins are just above that, so the current jackpot only needs to go past $768 million to enter the top 10.

From there, the jackpot is likely to grow faster and faster until it eventually gets won. The biggest win of all time remains the $2.04 billion jackpot from November 2022 that was claimed by California’s Edwin Castro.

The latest chance for someone to grab the jackpot came on Monday evening, when $691 million was on offer and the winning numbers were revealed to be 18, 26, 49, 50 and 54, with a Powerball of 1. More than 654,000 players picked up prizes, including two ticket holders (one from Florida and one from Georgia) who matched all five main numbers without the Powerball to land $2 million each.

Nobody has won the jackpot since an anonymous player from Illinois snapped up $1.04 billion on August 12. They claimed the money a few weeks later, opting for the lump-sum payment of $450.5 million before taxes and describing the ‘full range of emotions’ they felt. 

Whether you would take the cash option or the annuity, you can use our Tax Calculator to work out how much you would take home if you won the next jackpot. The rate of state tax varies a lot from location to location.

You should also keep in mind that the claim period is not the same everywhere. If you play in New Mexico, for example, you only have 90 days from the draw date to come forward. In many other states, you have up to one year to redeem prizes. Go to the How to Claim page to learn about some of the key differences from state to state.

Draws take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night. View the Powerball Numbers page shortly after each draw to find out what happened and whether the jackpot gets won.