No one won Monday’s Powerball. Now $716M is up for grabs.
· Yahoo NewsSomeone could win an estimated $716 million in Wednesday's Powerball drawing after no ticket matched all six numbers on Monday.
The jackpot has gone for more than 30 drawings without a winner, since Aug. 12, when a single ticket sold in Illinois won $1.04 billion.
Monday still produced a couple of big winners. Two tickets, one sold in Florida and one in Georgia, matched all five white balls and won $1 million each.
What are the odds of winning Powerball?
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
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To put that into perspective, the National Weather Service estimates the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year at about 1 in 1.2 million. That means you're roughly 240 times more likely to be struck than to win the jackpot with a single ticket.
A ticket is far more likely to win a smaller prize. The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9.
What are the biggest Powerball wins?
The most recent jackpot winner, who chose to remain anonymous, won $1.04 billion on Aug. 12, the eighth-largest Powerball prize since the game began in 1992. Illinois law allows lottery winners of over $250,000 to keep their identities hidden.
The largest jackpot ever won, $2.04 billion, went to Edwin Castro, who bought the winning ticket at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, Calif., in 2022. Castro has generally kept a low profile, but the Wall Street Journal reported in 2025 that he spent about $10 million on 15 lots in his hometown after devastating wildfires in January 2025.
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Top 10 Powerball jackpots:
- $2.04 billion, Nov. 7, 2022, California
- $1.817 billion, Dec. 24, 2025, Arkansas
- $1.787 billion, Sept. 6, 2025, Missouri and Texas
- $1.765 billion, Oct. 11, 2023, California
- $1.586 billion, Jan. 13, 2016, California, Florida and Tennessee
- $1.326 billion, April 6, 2024, Oregon
- $1.08 billion, July 19, 2023, California
- $1.04 billion, Aug. 12, 2026, Illinois
- $842.4 million, Jan. 1, 2024, Michigan
- $768.4 million, March 27, 2019, Wisconsin
How much could the $716 million Powerball jackpot winner actually take home?
There are two ways for potential winners to claim a jackpot — either in a one-time lump-sum payment or an annuity paid out over 29 years. A jackpot winner who selects the annuity will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year, the Powerball website states. However, both options are subject to federal and jurisdictional taxes.
The $716 million figure is for the annuity option, paid in yearly installments. The lump sum cash value is $307.2 million, according to the Powerball website.
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Lump sum winners will then face a 24% federal withholding tax plus additional federal taxes from being in the top tax bracket, bringing the total to as high as 37%. A lump-sum winner would be left with roughly $193.5 million before state taxes.