12th-largest cash value in US history
By Todd Northrop
This week Powerball is the hot ticket, featuring a lump-sum cash payout of nearly a quarter billion dollars.
The new high-water mark of $403 million for the current Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night's $361 million grand prize.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $243.9 million — the 12th-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history. (See top 25 annuity and cash values below.)
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.
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 should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries, and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs. For example, the original estimate for Saturday's drawing was $349 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $361 million.
Wednesday's mammoth prize is the result of 18 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Dec. 21, 2016.
The winning numbers for Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017 were 3, 7, 9, 31, and 33, with Powerball number 20. The Power Play number was 3.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Saturday, 9 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Louisiana, 1 from Maryland, 1 from New Jersey, 1 from New York, 2 from Pennsylvania, 1 from Rhode Island, and 2 from Texas.
Three of the second-prize winners purchased the Power Play option — one of the tickets sold in Pennsylvania, the ticket sold in Rhode Island, and one of the tickets sold in Texas. Those three lucky ticket-holders will have their prize automatically 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 $402,218 this drawing, which would have been split by any players matching all five numbers in that state. Now that prize money will be rolled into the prize pool for the California second prize next drawing.
58 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 3 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 7 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $14,709 this drawing.
Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $42 million from its previous amount of $361 million. The cash value was raised by $23.5 million from its previous amount of $220.4 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 now 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 14th-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: $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: $403 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- 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
- Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
- The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 16
- Mega Millions: 7
- The Big Game: 2
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 12th-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: $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
- Powerball: $243.9 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($403 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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
- Mega Millions: $197.5 million cash, Nov. 4, 2014 ($321 million annuity) - New York
- Powerball: $197.4 million cash, Sep. 30, 2015 ($310.5 million annuity) - Michigan
- Mega Millions: $194.4 million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
It will be won on Wednesday
Strong PowerBall Ticket Sales at this early morning hour!
You can wait as long as you like, but they'll keep selling losers until the very last ticket pops out of a terminal 15 minutes before the drawing.
Not to Worry: Their are plenty of losing combinations to go around!
Never say Never when discussing Power Ball record jackpots. Most of us were surprised when on January 13, 2016, a record was made. A Wednesday night draw.
Records are made to be broken. Do remember the odds 1:292.2 million
Good luck to all players!!!
I like your 'mind stretched' quote, interesting.
After the last two drawings with the numbers that came up and no jackpot winner, I would agree.
Just picked up 5 lines with pplay and 5 lines without pplay. Now, I'll just sit back and watch my bank account explode. Hmmm Sweet dreams.
I have written down on the pyramids for lottery so here we go this week. I think it's going to be this week or next week someone hits
You're confusing MegaMillions with PowerBall. It's MM that sells tickets until 15 minutes before its drawings and PB that stops selling tickets an hour before its drawings.
I often wondered why there is a cutoff time difference between the two.
Doesn't make any difference to me because I buy my tix Sunday or Monday, and again on Thursday, but I have been curious.
I wonder if they will raise the jackpot between now and the drawing again.-weshar75
Let's go Pennsylvania!
The last Powerball Jackpot winning ticket sold in Pennsylvania was in 2013.
We need the big winner here!
Day 1 of the news obsession with PB. If no one wins Wed., expect a bigger blurb, if no one then wins on Sat., expect a full 10 min. piece on the odds of PB.
I, for one, hope something like this happens again:
LMFAO!!!!
.
Imagine if one person wins 403 million samolians!
(boy, if I won that, this Wednesday, why I'd . . . I'd make. . . . . um. . . . . I'd get me a .. . . .. . . .
a little tongue-tied there groppo? Let it happen first - then lose your mind.)
If you adjust for the lump sum and federal taxes, Gruppo, the winner wd take home $147 million or less. No one has ever taken home close to $403 million and I doubt it will ever happen. To take home $400 million you would have to win about 1.2 billion.
That is enough money to pay for my bodyguards in Paris!
Oh Artist, you'll be fine in France. Sweden on the other hand...
You can make that up by the money you'll save on razors.
That's assuming you want to blend in, that is.
Ugh lol. DC or VA is overdue for a jp win, especially DC.
Oh yes I can verify that it's total chaos here in Sweden. Don't come here if you win!
What a dumbass lol? Actually my answer would be this. Either something for the reporter to find out and me to know or sweep her off her feet.
It depends on the reporter too.
Also I would tell the reporter sorry I don't give my secrets out over the air but be prepared if I were to win huge plans would happen.
I am ready to win the Powerball , 2/22/2017
$403 Million Dollars sounds nice about now ,
along with my plans .
Before MSN did away with them, I belonged to several of their Communities, later called Groups. I was in one devoted to flying and someone posted a photo of a new developmental fighter jet and said it was American. Someone else chimed in and said no, it was French, a Dassault Rafale. I couldn't help myself and said no, it couldn't be a French jet...there wasn't any hair under the wings.
Probably not. I haven't heard a peep of news coverage nor anything online about this jackpot so I doubt most people are interested yet.
They raised last drawing to 361, so I would be there will be a little bump
People are starting to get use to higher jackpots.
Wednesday by 2pm they will raise it by $15-$20 million
Yep. This jackpot has a very good chance of growing bigger than Mega's largest jackpot though I'm skeptical we'll see a billion dollar one given how many people won the second prize last draw.
We should see less second place prize winners if the numbers are high just because no body usually plays those numbers.-weshar75
that is not a big enough margin for a pre-draw update.
75 to 100 mil at the very least sounds more likely.....
look back at the marie holmes and the billion dollar draws. It was only when the jackpot jumped by over 100 mill between draws that they started giving updates pre-draw.
These past 2 draws alone the jackpot has gone up by a few teenage million predraw with no up dates.....not frenzy level yet.
we are at at least Defcon 3!!!!
I agree. Hadn't it started going crazy when it got in the 600 Million dollar range in the past?
Seriously doubt there will any increase for Wednesday and think it will be like $480 million after tomorrow.
Like I've said before lottery fatigue has set in.
It will be won on Wednesday.
That billion dollar draw was a fluke that the lottery powers that be will live to regret because now people are not as apt to buy tickets at these former mega jackpots of 400 million
may it be one of us
On Face book just now WHAS 11 out of Louisville, KY incorrectly posted that this is the tenth largest Powerball jackpot. I responded not according to our group Lottery Post...it is twelfth. Then I said 'Todd knows best.'
WHAS 11 was right. It is the 10th-largest Powerball jackpot ever. There have only been 9 Powerball jackpots larger than this one. But when I write the news stories I normally compare the jackpot to the largest jackpots of ANY game in US history, not just Powerball jackpots -- that's the difference.
Wednesday is the 12th-largest cash value of ANY game in US history, and the 14th-largest annuity jackpot of ANY game in US history.
It won't! I am waiting for randomlogic's new program! LOL
Wish I wrote here first instead of chastising them on Face book. I'll try to find the post and put in a correction. Thanks Todd, beyond embarrassed.
Don't be. It's a very easy mistake to make, nothing to worry about.
Thanks!
In as much as it is fair game for all.....
I would be totally gutted if a foreign player won such a large jackpot using online sites such as thelotter
I would rather ny and fl won it again in such a case
How many people won the 2nd place drawing has very little to do with it. Based on sales for the last drawing only 12% of the possible combinations were played, which is about 1 of every 8 combinations. If 1 of every 8 tickets that had the correct 5 numbers also had the correct powrball number we'd have seen 3 winners.
Another way to look at it is that if the number of 2nd place winners indicated anything we'd never see a jackpot winner when there are only 1 or 2 2nd place winners.
Don't worry, NY is definitely gonna take this one down with my ticket.
Remember the Iraqi's who won Mega Millions in Oregon using one of those services? Going to have research to see how much they won. They were able to keep it anonymous due to the high volatile situation 'over there'.
WinWinChicDin Google said it was the Oregon Mega jackpot, not Mega millions like I said. It was for $6.4 million and purchased through the website you mentioned.
Yes.....I know the story well.
There have also been other small mm and pb prizes won but not as publicized.
Just know that if there is a major win from Oregon, chances are it is someone off shore (as I buy my ticket to an overseas land.....)
They (thelotter) buy their PB tickets in Oregon, New Jersey, or New York. I have also seen Florida. Somebody winning in Connecticutt could just as well be a tourist. You are overestimating the volume of "messenger buys".
More likely just some boring regular Joe/Jane winning in Cali. Like noise-gate.
Never say never.....it would be a big boost for them, with more international players coming into the mix
And could change how these big draw jackpots climb....
Well, can't have it both ways. Either people who buy a ticket can win or it's not a free, fair game. I understand your frustration at not winning.
Personally, I don't care who won, just as long as it isn't my neighbor.
Didnt somebody in Iraq or thereabouts win a state lottery in WA or OR?
Yes, December 2015, $6M. There is an article on him in the news section. https://www.lotterypost.com/news/296905
Just saw the first news story outside of L.P. showing PB is $403 million on USA Today. Nothing on tv though.
Thank You lejardin. I am always happy when Power Ball is in the news.
Sales say a lot, and after lagging for equivalent, prior headline jackpots on this run, the last drawing was pretty strong. News coverage may not be big, but things have caught up to historical sales levels for the headline jackpot.
The lottery published the estimated rollover to $403 million on 2/17. So far, they have yet to publish the estimate if it rolls over on 2/22.
The next jackpot estimate won't be out until tomorrow afternoon.