Powerball Jackpot Grows Past $500 Million For Monday Night’s Drawing

Monday night’s Powerball jackpot is up to an estimated $501 million, and we are knocking on the door of history here.

If someone wins this drawing — it will be the 31st since the last time a winner was crowned — it will be the 35th largest jackpot in American lottery history.

And if we’re just looking at Powerball, this will be the 18th largest jackpot ever awarded.

That said, while $501 million is a big number — and so is the cash value, at $229.5 million — we do still have a bit of a ways to go to get to top-10 status.

For all lotteries, this jackpot would have to more than double to break the top 10, but to get into the Powerball top 10, it would “only” have to grow to $731.6 million.

Obviously, nobody won Saturday night’s Powerball drawing — numbers 7, 14, 23, 24, 60, and a red Powerball of 14 — and a ticket-buyer in Illinois acquired the only Match 5 winning ticket.

Lottery Geeks estimates over 20.5 million tickets were sold for Saturday’s drawing.

Don’t you forget about Me(ga)

As you walk on by, will you call Mega Millions’ name? Great ’80s songs aside, you can buy a lot of breakfast for your club with Tuesday’s estimated top prize of $182 million.

Nobody won last Friday’s drawing — numbers 2, 6, 8, 14, 49, and a gold Mega Ball of 12 — though one customer in California hit all five white balls, along with a 3x Megaplier, to take home $3 million.

Lottery Geeks estimates 5.1 million tickets were sold for Friday’s draw.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, while Powerball tickets cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option for Powerball — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California
10. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $571.9 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California