Topline
The Powerball jackpot—estimated at $615 million for its next drawing on Saturday—is the 10th-largest in its history, the lottery said, as the jackpot continues to grow since its last winning draw in April.
The Powerball jackpot reached an estimated $615 million for its drawing Saturday.
Key Facts
The winner has the option to receive the money in 30 installments over 29 years or as a $310.6 million lump sum, though a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding would reduce the jackpot to $236 million, while a federal marginal rate as high as 37%—depending on the winner’s taxable income—could reduce it to as low as $195.6 million.
Saturday’s jackpot is the largest since February, when a $754.6 million jackpot—the fifth-largest ever—was drawn in Washington, according to the lottery.
Wednesday’s drawing included three tickets that won $1 million prizes, in addition to 17 that won $50,000 and five that won $100,000.
The Powerball will hold its next drawing on Saturday at 11 p.m. EST.
Big Number
864,000. That’s how many winning tickets were sold for Wednesday’s drawing, which won a combined total of $9 million, according to the lottery.
Surprising Fact
The largest Powerball jackpot was won in November, when a California man won $2.04 billion. The jackpot last had a winner on April 19, when a ticket sold in Ohio won $252.6 million.
Key Background
Six of the 10 largest Powerball jackpots—including Saturday’s drawing—have occurred over the last two years. The lottery increased the pool of white ball numbers available from 59 to 69 in 2015, while decreasing the pool of Powerball numbers from 35 to 26. That change decreased players’ odds of winning from one in about 175.2 million to one in 292.2 million. The Mega Millions lottery also changed its formula, increasing jackpot odds from one in 258.9 million to one in 302.6 million. Four Mega Millions jackpots have since eclipsed the $1 billion mark, including a $1.35 million jackpot won in January.
Further Reading
Powerball Swells To $700 Million—Here’s Why There Have Been So Many Massive Jackpots Recently (Forbes)
