Powerball has picked up steam again without any jackpot winners to slow its roll. Because nobody matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, it will now roll over to Saturday’s drawing and at $935 million, this will mark the fifth-highest in the history of the game.
Though no one matched all six numbers – 37, 46, 57, 60, 66, and Powerball 8 – three lucky players did claim $1 million each after matching the first five numbers. According to a Powerball press release, those tickets were sold in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
What is the all-time record for Powerball?
Though Saturday’s jackpot is flirting with $1 billion, it’s not quite historic just yet. The Powerball jackpot has surpassed its current number of $935 million ($449.7 million lump sum) just four other times in history. In fact, the two highest jackpots of all time are both Powerball – $2.04 billion in November 2022 and $1.765 billion in October 2023.
Mega Millions, meanwhile, has reset to a “mere” $20 million after Tuesday night’s drawing finally hit, and perhaps jackpot fatigue sets in for a spell. The jackpot had been rolling over since New Year’s Day, meaning that the winning jackpot snowballed into $1.13 billion, the eighth-highest U.S. jackpot of all time. According to the Mega Millions release, the sole winner of that jackpot on Tuesday had purchased the winning ticket at a ShopRite Liquor in Neptune Township, N.J.
As New Jersey allows its lottery winners to remain anonymous, the winner may choose not to come forward.
Overall, Mega Millions is the only lottery game to have ever produced six jackpots that exceeded $1 billion. Only time will tell if the Powerball hits the same milestone, but for now, we’ll just have to see what happens Saturday.
Tickets for both Powerball and Mega Millions are priced at $2, plus $1 more to play the multiplier. Both games are available in most of the country, while only Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah abstain do not permit lotteries.
