For the second time this year, Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing will be worth one of the ten biggest jackpots in American lottery history.
The winning numbers were 19-36-37-46-56, with the Powerball being 24.
The $700 million prize, if won, would be the fifth-largest in Powerball history and the eight-largest for any U.S. lottery.
It comes three months after two people in Illinois split a $1.337 billion ticket (that’s “billion” with a “b”) in the Mega Millions game — America’s third-largest jackpot ever.
The last ticket to match all six numbers and the Powerball came in the Aug. 3 drawing, letting the top prize continue to grow.
Powerball expanded to three nights a week in August 2021, adding a Monday drawing to its traditional Wednesday and Saturday games. Lottery officials said earlier this year that the extra drawing would lead to “larger, faster-growing jackpots.”
If taken in a single cash lump sum, as most recent big lottery winners have chosen to do, Wednesday’s $700 million prize would be worth $335.7 million. The larger, advertised amount is what the other option — a 29-year annuity — would be worth over its lifetime.
Federal taxes would quickly take almost 40% of that amount, with state taxes a possibility on top of that.
The $2 Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The odds of a winning Powerball ticket are 1 in 292.2 million.
