Powerball Jackpot Is Top Draw Lottery Prize Again, Climbs Over $150 Million This Weekend

After Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot of was hit in Texas — no one has yet stepped forward to claim that prize, which was initially estimated at $800 million but has since been revised to $810 million — the biggest lotto jackpot in the land now gets volleyed back to Powerball.

No one won Wednesday night’s $134 million Powerball drawing, thereby making Saturday night’s drawing worth an estimated $152 million, with a cash option of $76.7 million.

This will be the 11th Powerball drawing since the last jackpot winner, a $44 million haul on Aug. 19 off a ticket sold in California.

Wednesday’s winning numbers — 10, 12, 55, 65, and 67 with a red Powerball of 3 — did not, for the second time in as many drawings, yield any new millionaires, as no one hit all five of the white balls.

Lottery Geeks estimates a little over 10.7 million Powerball tickets were sold for Wednesday’s drawing, about 1.3 million more than Monday’s game.

Mega Millions back to square one

Meanwhile, the Mega Millions jackpot resets for Friday night’s drawing, with a top prize of $20 million (cash option $10.1 million).

Over 50.6 million tickets were sold for Tuesday’s drawing, a bump of more than 20% from the previous drawing as, clearly, lotto fever was gripping the nation.

Four other millionaires were minted in that drawing in addition to the big winner, with customers in California, Florida, New York, and Washington matching the five white balls to take home an even million bucks apiece.

With this next Mega Millions drawing on Friday the 13th, some may worry it’s a bad idea to play the lottery. But fear not: A (lucky) seven Mega Millions jackpots have been won on a Friday the 13th, including a $1.348 billion prize won in Maine in January 2023. Four jackpots on the supposedly unlucky date were won in Michigan (June 2008, May 2011, June 2014, and one shared with Rhode Island in October 2017), and one each in New York (March 2009) and Ohio (November 2015).

Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with most states offering a multiplier option for an additional $1.

Both lotteries are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah, and tickets are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not 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. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey
10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California

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. $558.1 million, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California