By Todd Northrop
This Saturday, lottery players will have the chance to buy tickets for the largest Powerball jackpot of the year.
Of course, it's also the first Powerball jackpot of the year.
Kidding aside, when nobody won last night's $301.8 million jackpot, the new Powerball jackpot estimate for Sat., Jan. 2, grew to $334 million, which is the largest jackpot for the popular multi-state game since Feb. 2015.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $205 million — the 16th-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 $300 million, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $301.8 million.
The mammoth prize is the result of 17 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Nov. 7.
The winning numbers for Wednesday, December 30, 2015 were 12, 36, 38, 54, and 61, with Powerball number 22. The Power Play number was 3.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Wednesday, 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California and 1 from Pennsylvania.
None of the second-prize winners purchased the Power Play option. If they had purchased the Power Play option for an extra $1 per play, their second-prize win would have been 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.
41 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 5 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and 2 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $68,739 this drawing.
Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $32.2 million from its previous amount of $301.8 million. The cash value was raised by $19.7 million from its previous amount of $185.3 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, 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
Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 19th-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.
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $648 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
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
- 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
- Powerball: $334 million, Jan. 2, 2016 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $326 million, Nov. 4, 2014 - New York
- Mega Millions: $319 million, Mar. 25, 2011 - New York
- Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005 - California
- Powerball: $314.9 million, Dec. 25, 2002 - West Virginia
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 16th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- 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
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- 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
- Powerball: $205 million cash, Jan. 2, 2016 ($334 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $197.5 million cash, Nov. 4, 2014 ($326 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
- Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California
- The Big Game: $180 million cash, May 9, 2000 ($363 million annuity) - Illinois, Michigan
- Mega Millions: $177.3 million cash, Jan. 16, 2015 ($270 million annuity) - Illinois
- Powerball: $177.3 million cash, Feb. 18, 2006 ($365 million annuity) - Nebraska
- Powerball: $170.5 million cash, Dec. 25, 2002 ($314.9 million annuity) - West Virginia
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Mega Millions: 13
- Powerball: 11
- The Big Game: 1
Wow. What a great way to start the new year off. So will it roll over again ? And how many times will it roll over.
Opps. Sorry. Happy New Year
Same to you!
Am thinking if Mega Millions is won tomorrow night, the Powerball will jump up even faster.
should be most curious to see whar both pots are headed
hmmm. Ordinarily I would be ecstatic about a jackpot (CV) this high. However, can someone please post the ticket sales for the last 7 days to get the figures for the last two drawings?
I'm trying to figure out how the JP can have a $45 million jump from 255 to 300, but then fall back to a $34 million jump when the JP is higher.
At this point in the game, each increase is always bigger than the previous jump. $9 million less equates to a big drop in sales from the week before.
Probably a lot of Christmas gift tickets in the previous drawing.
Can you imagine buying a Powerball/Mega Millions ticket for someone for Christmas and it winning?
EEks! If I ever bought tickets for someone else, I'd make sure to play the same numbers for myself.
If that Christmas gift was a winner then you would have a friend for life.
How nice and quiet the previous winners have been. Very little news about them in the media. They have learned from the past. One exception is Eddie Tipton.
Enjoy the New Year everybody!!
Excellent idea. I'm not sure I would remember to do it though.
Happy New Years!
I never have and never will give lottery tickets as a gift. I also do not want to receive them as a gift!
Where would you guys go on vacation at?
Somewhere in California. Along the Coast or into the Sierra Mountain range.
I think I'd rent a private island for a month once a year