8th-biggest lottery jackpot in US history

By Todd Northrop

Due to larger than expected sales volume, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) has raised the official Powerball lottery jackpot estimate for Saturday's drawing to $535 million.

The all-important lump-sum cash value of the jackpot has been raised to $338.8 million.

The newly-increased annuity and cash value jackpot amounts are both the 8th-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history. The top-25 annuity and cash value jackpots are listed below.

"With a jackpot above the half-billion dollar mark, Powerball tickets are selling like solar eclipse glasses — but tickets are much easier to find in stores," said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko, who noted that this is the game's largest jackpot since the run-up to the world-record jackpot in early 2016. That historic prize totaled nearly $1.6 billion.

The Powerball drawing will be conducted Saturday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time (7:59 pm Pacific).  The mammoth grand prize started at $40 million on Jun. 14, 2017, and is the result of 19 drawings with no jackpot winner.

After the Wednesday evening Powerball drawing, when it was determined that there were no jackpot winners, the new jackpot estimate for Saturday was set at $510 million, with a cash value of $324.2 million. The lottery sets the initial estimates based on what they conservatively believe the ticket sales will be prior to the next drawing. When it becomes clear that actual ticket sales are vastly outstripping the initial projections, the lotteries raise the jackpot estimate accordingly — as they did today.

It is quite possible that by the time the drawing occurs tomorrow night, the jackpot will be further increased. The final jackpot tally is announced during the live drawing show.

Lottery players seeking to check the winning numbers Saturday night are urged to use USA Mega (www.usamega.com).  State lottery websites are normally brought to a standstill during busy periods, while USA Mega normally remains responsive.

Powerball drawing results will be posted immediately after the 10:59 pm drawing at USA Mega. The number of winners and new jackpot will be announced after all participating Powerball states have reported their data, which normally occurs within a couple of hours after the drawing.

Players are advised not to wait until the last minute to buy tickets, as the ticket cutoff time varies between states.

The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1 in 292 million. The odds of winning any of the Powerball prizes are approximately 1 in 25.

Powerball tickets cost $2 each.

Lottery players can see an after-tax analysis of the current Powerball jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page.

Powerball features nine different prize levels, ranging from $4 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Powerball number.

All states except California also offer the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket purchased. The Power Play multiplies any non-jackpot prizes won by the Power Play number drawn that evening.

Players who purchase the Power Play and win second prize will automatically have their prize increased by 2x to $2 million.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Saturday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 8th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 5th-largest Powerball jackpot ever.  Brisk sales will almost certainly push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

1. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
3. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
4. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
5. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
6. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
7. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
8. Powerball: $535 million, Aug. 19, 2017 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
9. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
10. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
11. Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
12. Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
13. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
14. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
15. Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
16. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
17. Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
18. Mega Millions: $393 million, Aug. 11, 2017 - Illinois
19. Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
20. Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
21. Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
22. The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
23. Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
24. Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
25. Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan

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

• Powerball: 17
• Mega Millions: 7
• The Big Game: 1

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 8th-largest cash value in U.S. history.

1. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
3. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
4. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
5. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
6. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
7. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
8. Powerball: $338.8 million cash, Aug. 19, 2017 ($535 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
9. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
10. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
11. Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
12. Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
13. Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
14. Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
15. Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
16. Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
17. Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
18. Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
19. Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($425.3 million annuity) - California
20. Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
21. Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
22. Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
23. Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
24. Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
25. Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York

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

• Powerball: 16
• Mega Millions: 9

(Click to display full-size in gallery)The Powerball Wednesday jackpot cash value of $340.1 million is the 8th largest in history.