Powerball Jackpot Up To $1.6 Billion, Tied For Fourth Largest In US Lottery History

Not only has Powerball stolen all the fanfare from Mega Millions the last several months with its multiple runs into “lotto fever” territory, but it’s also about to possibly bump Mega Millions’ largest jackpot ever down one spot on the all-time lottery list.

The top three spots in U.S. draw lottery history are all held by Powerball, with fourth place going to a $1.6 billion Mega Millions grand prize in 2023. For Monday night’s Powerball drawing, the estimated jackpot is that same $1.6 billion — but pre-drawing jackpot estimates tend to lean conservative, meaning when all the math gets math-ed, this top prize could have fourth place all to itself.

And it will climb higher than that, maybe to No. 2 on the all-time list, if nobody goes a perfect six-for-six Monday and it rolls over again.

Already, this streak is at a record 45 straight draws without a winner — though the jackpot itself is not a record, which tells you ticket sales are not quite as monstrous as they’ve been in some previous runs.

In Saturday night’s drawing for $1.43 billion (cash value: $659.3 million), nobody matched the winning numbers of 4, 5, 28, 52, 69, and red Powerball 20.

There were, however, eight Match 5 winners, each claiming $1 million (none of them paid up for the Power Play to make it $2 million). Two of those tickets were sold in Michigan, while the others were purchased in California, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Ohio.

Sales are strong, but …

By Lottery Geeks’ estimates, there were 114 million tickets sold for the Saturday drawing — seemingly a tad under expectation, since the jackpot was advertised as $1.5 billion but came $70 million short of that.

The last time a Powerball jackpot winner was crowned, in the Sept. 6 drawing, an estimated 258.3 million tickets were sold. That was also a Saturday draw, and the jackpot was higher, $1.787 billion.

That came in the 42nd draw since the previous winner, a record at the time. The rollover record has been comfortably surpassed in the current run, but the jackpot is not as big this time, indicating sales were much hotter in the late summer than they’ve been in the late fall.

For Monday night, the estimated lump-sum cash value if the jackpot hits is $735.3 million. If a winner selects the $1.6 billion (or thereabouts) annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.

The next drawing after Monday’s is on Christmas Eve, and if nobody wins Monday, that Wednesday drawing could realistically surpass the $1.787 billion split by two winners in September and take over the No. 2 spot on the all-time jackpot list.

The all-time record — $2.04 billion, won on Nov. 7, 2022 — would seem out of reach for Christmas Eve, but perhaps will be surpassed on Saturday if Powerball sees two more rollovers.

Middling Mega

Mega Millions, meanwhile, is still a long way from these 10-figure jackpots. But it is crossing into nine figures (estimated) for Tuesday’s drawing, at an even $100 million (cash option: $45.5 million).

This after nobody won Friday’s drawing with the numbers 1, 11, 27, 39, 59, and gold Mega Ball 18. Nobody hit the Match 5 Friday either, when an estimated 6.1 million tickets were solid.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, and Powerball tickets cost $2. Most states offer 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 won:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.79 billion, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
3. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
4. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
6. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
7. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
8. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
9. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California

Here is 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. $820.6 million, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
5. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
6. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
7. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
8. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
9. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
10. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon