The Powerball jackpot has surged to an estimated $935 million for Saturday night’s drawing after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night, according to lottery officials. This marks the game’s biggest prize of the year so far.
Should a winner emerge in the upcoming drawing, they will face a choice: accept the estimated $935 million amount distributed over 30 annual payments, or opt for a lump sum cash award. The estimated cash value for the Saturday drawing is $449.7 million, which is often the preferred option for winners.
The lack of a grand prize winner in Wednesday night’s drawing means the jackpot has now rolled over for 37 consecutive drawings. The winning numbers drawn on Wednesday night were 37, 46, 57, 60, 66, with the Powerball number being 8. Despite no one hitting the top prize, there were still significant wins across the country.
Three tickets successfully matched the first five numbers, earning each of those players a $1 million prize. These winning tickets were sold in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Texas, according to the Powerball website. While not the jackpot, these seven-figure prizes represent substantial windfalls for the ticket holders.
This estimated $935 million jackpot positions itself among the largest in the game’s history. It would be the fifth-largest prize ever for Powerball, adding another monumental figure to the list of the lottery’s biggest payouts.
Prior to this run, Powerball’s grand prize was last claimed in January. On New Year’s Day, a single ticket purchased in Michigan secured an $842.4 million jackpot, marking a significant start to the year for that player.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are estimated at 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball officials. These astronomical odds remain constant regardless of the jackpot’s size, whether it’s $20 million or $1 billion.
However, the odds of winning any prize in a Powerball drawing are much better, standing at 1 in 24.9, as stated by powerball.com. Prizes below the jackpot range from $2 up to $1 million for matching all five white numbers without the Powerball number, or $50,000 for other number combinations.
Achieving the grand prize requires a ticket to match all five white ball numbers drawn, plus the single red Powerball number. Tickets for Powerball cost $2 each to play.
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Should a player beat the steep odds and claim the jackpot, they will need to consider the tax implications. A mandatory federal tax withholding of 24% is applied to winnings. For the estimated $449.7 million cash option for the $935 million jackpot, this withholding would reduce the prize amount to $341.77 million initially.
Furthermore, based on a winner’s overall taxable income, they could potentially face a federal marginal tax rate as high as 37%. If this highest marginal rate were applied, the estimated $449.7 million lump sum could be further reduced to $283.31 million.
If the annuity option is chosen for the $935 million prize, the annual installment is approximately $31.2 million before taxes. Applying the potential 37% federal marginal rate could decrease this yearly payment to roughly $19.6 million.
State taxes also play a significant role in the final take-home amount for lottery winners. While some states, such as Texas and California, do not levy state taxes on lottery winnings, others impose taxes ranging from 5% to 10.9%, like New York and New Jersey.
The state where the winning ticket was purchased is crucial, as Powerball prizes must be claimed in the state where the ticket was bought, according to the Florida Lottery and Mega Millions. This rule applies whether it’s a Powerball or Mega Millions prize.
Florida law requires the Florida Lottery to provide records including the winner’s name, city of residence, game won, date won, and amount won to any third party upon request. However, since May 25, 2022, the names of winners claiming prizes of $250,000 or greater are temporarily exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the claim date, unless the winner waives this exemption.
Lottery experts and legal professionals have suggested that there are potential strategies winners might explore to maintain anonymity, although Florida law outlines public disclosure requirements for prizes over $250,000 with a temporary exemption period for larger wins.
For Florida Lottery tickets, prizes must be claimed within 180 days, which is six months, from the date of the drawing. If a winner chooses the single-payment cash option, they must claim it within the first 60 days following the applicable draw date. Scratch-off tickets and Fast Play game prizes in Florida must be claimed within 60 days of the official end-of-game date.
Unclaimed prize money is handled according to specific regulations. In Florida, state law directs 80% of unclaimed prize funds from expired tickets to be transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. The remaining 20% is returned to the prize pool for future drawings.
Should a Powerball ticket go unclaimed within 180 days of the drawing date, the funds intended for that jackpot are returned to all participating lottery members based on their proportion of sales for the jackpot rollover series. These lotteries then distribute the money according to their own jurisdiction’s laws, which can involve directing it to other lottery games, the jurisdiction’s general fund, or as otherwise required by law.
Similarly, if a Mega Millions ticket is not claimed within 180 days of the drawing date, the funds meant for the unclaimed jackpot are returned to the lottery members based on their proportion of sales for that jackpot rollover series.
This current Powerball jackpot adds to a history of massive lottery prizes that have captured national attention. The largest lottery prize in U.S. history was a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by a single ticket in California in November 2022. The winner, Edwin Castro, came forward with the ticket bought in Altadena.
Edwin Castro opted for a lump sum of $997.6 million, just under $1 billion, according to the California Lottery. He stated he was “educated in the California public education system” but otherwise requested privacy after claiming the prize on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2023.
Mr. Castro’s post-win activities included significant real estate purchases. He bought a $25.5 million Hollywood Hills home in March 2023, a month after claiming his nearly $1 billion lump sum. Later that same month, he followed up by purchasing a $4 million Altadena mansion.
The owner of the Altadena gas station, Joe’s Service Center, that sold Edwin Castro the winning ticket, Joseph Chahayed, also received a $1 million prize as a bonus for selling the jackpot ticket.
Before Mr. Castro’s record-breaking win, another massive Powerball jackpot of $1.586 billion was split among three tickets in January 2016. One of those winning tickets was held by Eastvale residents Marvin and Mae Acosta from California.
The Acostas, along with two other winners from Tennessee and Florida, shared in the $1.586 billion jackpot. The couple chose the pre-tax $327.8 million lump-sum option for their share of the prize.
Neighbors of Marvin and Mae Acosta reported that they moved into their new home in Riverside County, Eastvale, late the previous year. The Chino Hills 7-Eleven franchise where the Acostas’ ticket was sold also netted its owner, Balbir Atwal, $1 million.
Another California winner claimed a significant Powerball prize more recently. A single ticket in California matched all five numbers and the Powerball in the drawing on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. That jackpot was an estimated $1 billion.
The July 19, 2023 winner had the choice of the $1.08 billion annuity or a one-time cash payment estimated at $558.1 million. The winning numbers for that drawing were 7, 10, 11, 13, 24, with the Powerball being 24. The Power Play multiplier was 2x.
That Wednesday, July 19, 2023 drawing also produced other large winners across the country. There were three tickets that matched five numbers plus the Power Play, winning $2 million each. These tickets were sold in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Additionally, more than 30 tickets nationwide matched the $1 million Match 5 prize in the July 19, 2023 drawing. These tickets were purchased in California (7), Florida (4), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (2), New Jersey (2), New York (5), Texas (4), and one each in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
The ascent of the current jackpot towards the billion-dollar mark places it firmly in the list of the Top 10 largest Powerball jackpots ever and the Top 10 biggest lottery jackpots overall in U.S. history, as compiled from the provided data which includes jackpots through July 19, 2023, and updates for later draws.
For comparison, Mega Millions jackpots also reach staggering amounts. The context mentions a Mega Millions jackpot reaching an estimated $893 million for a drawing on Tuesday night (following a rollover from Friday night). A winner in that drawing could instead choose a lump sum of $421.4 million.
That estimated $893 million Mega Millions jackpot marked the sixth time in the nearly 22-year history of Mega Millions that the jackpot had reached such a size. Five of those six jackpots went on to exceed $1 billion, with winning tickets sold in South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, and Florida.
One ticket in New York won $1 million by matching all five white balls in the Friday night Mega Millions drawing that preceded the $893 million estimated jackpot. The Mega Millions jackpot had rolled over more than two dozen times since December 8, when two winning tickets were drawn in California.
