6th-largest cash value in US history

By Todd Northrop

This weekend Powerball will be the hot ticket, featuring a jackpot larger than any other United States lottery drawing in almost a year.

The new high-water mark of $360 million for the current Powerball jackpot was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Wednesday night's $324.7 million grand prize.

The lump-sum cash payout value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $250.5 million — the 6th-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 May 18, 2013, when Gloria C. MacKenzie of Zephyrhills, Florida, held the solitary winning ticket for a grand prize worth nearly $600 million (see Winner of record $590.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot announced, Lottery Post, June 5, 2013).

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 Wednesday's drawing was $317 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $324.7 million.

The mammoth prize is the result of 19 consecutive draws without a winner.  The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Dec. 3, 2014.

The winning numbers for Wednesday, February 4, 2015 were 24, 36, 51, 52, and 56, with Powerball number 22.  The Power Play number was 2.

Even though nobody won the jackpot Wednesday, 8 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 1 from Delaware, 2 from Florida, 1 from Georgia, 1 from North Carolina, 1 from Pennsylvania, 1 from Tennessee.

Only one of the second-prize winners purchased the Power Play option — the ticket sold in Pennsylvania.  Because that ticket was purchased with the Power Play option, their second-prize win is 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.

39 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $10,000.  Of those tickets, 11 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $20,000, and 5 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $9,100 this drawing.

Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $35.3 million from its previous amount of $324.7 million. The cash value was raised by $24.5 million from its previous amount of $226 million.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.

When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, any non-jackpot prize is increased according to a fixed prize schedule, which 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 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

Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands tied for the 13th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States.  That position may rise before the drawing Saturday night, as lotteries are typically conservative in their initial estimates, and brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

1. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
2. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
3. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
4. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
5. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
6. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
7. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
8. Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
9. Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
10. Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
11. Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
12. The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
13. Powerball: $360 million, Feb. 7, 2015 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
14. Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
15. Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
16. Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
17. Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
18. Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
19. The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
20. Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
21. Mega Millions: $326 million, Nov. 4, 2014 - New York
22. Mega Millions: $319 million, Mar. 25, 2011 - New York
23. Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005 - California
24. Powerball: $314.9 million, Dec. 25, 2002 - West Virgina
25. Powerball: $314.3 million, Aug. 25, 2007 - Indiana

The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 13
• Mega Millions: 10
• 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.

Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 6th-largest cash value in U.S. history.

1. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
2. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
3. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
4. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
5. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
6. Powerball: $250.5 million cash, Feb. 7, 2015 ($360 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
7. Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
8. Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
9. Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
10. Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
11. Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
12. Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
13. Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
14. Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
15. Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
16. Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
17. Mega Millions: $197.5 million cash, Nov. 4, 2014 ($326 million annuity) - New York
18. Mega Millions: $194.4 million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
19. Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California
20. The Big Game: $180 million cash, May 9, 2000 ($363 million annuity) - Illinois, Michigan
21. Mega Millions: $177.3 million cash, Jan. 16, 2015 ($270 million annuity) - Illinois
22. Powerball: $177.3 million cash, Feb. 18, 2006 ($365 million annuity) - Nebraska
23. Powerball: $170.5 million cash, Dec. 25, 2002 ($314.9 million annuity) - West Virginia
24. Mega Millions: $168 million cash, July 2, 2004 ($294 million annuity) - Massachusetts
25. Mega Millions: $167.7 million cash, Feb. 22, 2008 ($275 million annuity) - Georgia

The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Mega Millions: 13
• Powerball: 11
• The Big Game: 1