By Todd Northrop
There's nothing like a red-hot Powerball jackpot to distract from the Winter cold.
For the first time in 2017, a Powerball jackpot has exceeded $300 million and has entered into the top 25 US jackpots of all time.
The new high-water mark of $349 million for the current Powerball jackpot was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Wednesday night's $317 million grand prize.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $213.1 million, making both the annuity and cash values the 19th-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 mammoth prize up for grabs on Saturday is the result of 17 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $40 million prize on Dec. 21, 2016.
The last Powerball jackpot that was won was a $121.6 million grand prize drawn on Dec. 17, 2016, and claimed in January by a Pennsylvania couple on a ticket purchased in Delaware. (See Pa. couple claimed $121.6 million Powerball jackpot on ticket purchased in Delaware, Lottery Post, Feb. 16, 2017.)
Players should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries, and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs. This happened in Wednesday's drawing, which was estimated to be $310 million, but ended up as a $317 million grand prize by the time all proceeds were counted right before draw time Wednesday night.
The winning numbers for Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, were 5, 28, 33, 38, and 42, with Powerball number 19. The Power Play number was 2.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Wednesday, 5 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California, 1 from Florida, 1 from Georgia, 1 from New Jersey, and 1 from New York.
None of the winning second-prize tickets was purchased with the Power Play option. If they had, their prize would have been automatically doubled to $2,000,000.
Power Play is available in all Powerball jurisdictions except California for an extra $1 per play. The fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's mandated 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.
Also in the Wednesday night drawing, 28 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000. Of those tickets, 1 was purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $100,000, and 2 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $46,677 this drawing.
Following the Wednesday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $32 million from its previous amount of $317 million. The cash value was raised by $19.5 million from its previous amount of $193.6 million.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers 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, 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: $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: $349 million, Feb. 18, 2017 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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.
Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 19th-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
- 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: $213.1 million cash, Feb. 18, 2017 ($349 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- 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
I want it!
$1.5864 Billion
$949.8 Million
$524.1 Million
$355.8 Million
$301.8 Million
From January 2016 -- look how quickly it rose once it gets to this level. Also, it took 20 rollovers to reach 1.5 billion. 1.5 billion split 3 ways is still an outstanding jackpot. Do I think the same will happen? Nope. But still, it will be a nice jackpot for one or more.
That billion dollar jackpot was a freak accident basically. I don't doubt it'll get there again, but for this jackpot there have already been 17 roll overs, so it would have to jump 1,2 billion dollars in 3 draws to reach the all-time record. Maybe it could get to 700 million if interest spiked, but that would already have to be insane interest.
Although MM is very low right now, so it's possible PB could sway people.
By my analysis there would need to be three more rollovers to get to another billion dollar jackpot. That would be for the drawing on March 1st. But just as you said, I don't think it will happen, though with the numbers that were drawn in last nights drawing I also thought that they would have produced a winner, so what do I know.
Out of all the stories Todd et al put on Lottery Post, these are always my favorite. I love seeing the rankings of jackpots over the years and where current one stands.
BTW won $8 KY Powerball last night, $5 KY MM; and check came from MA lottery for $8 Powerball. I feel a big one coming.
These new jackpot records keep on pushing out the past winners. For example Jack Whittaker and David lee Edwards. Julie Leach from Michigan is still on the list with $310.5 million mark.
"Never say Never" Power Ball may surprise us all again.
Now is the time for the media feeding frenzy to begin. Loads of air time to be filled in our 24-hour news cycle.
Good Luck to all LP Members, Staff, and especially our leader Todd Northrop
California is bringing this baby home.You heard it here first.
I will settle for $50,000 or a cool million myself.-weshar75
The record PB was significantly unlikely, but it was hardly a freak accident. Reaching $950 million required selling about 950 million tickets, and the chance of doing that without producing a winner is about 3%.
The current run will set a new record if it gets past $1.586 billion (and we use the annuity as the yardstick) whether it does it on the next roll or if it takes 10 more rolls to get there. The probability of getting there is a function of the number of tickets sold, not how many rollovers it takes.
You and everyone here who bought a ticket.
Me too.....this when I get really excited about life and the possibilities
PB or MM. Either one is good to take home and make mine! However, a three way with me and two is an absolute dream!
Really Weshar-is that sufficient to live off comfortably in Oregon? You should aim high & then settle for what's left on the table.I guess the old adage applies to us all " beggars can't be choosers."
Dream it, do it!
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Good for you. I'm of about the same mind set.
I actually do want a few hundred thou myself.