Win Powerball Wednesday And You Still Won’t Have Enough Cash To Produce ‘Severance’

While Wednesday night’s Powerball jackpot has leapt past $300 million (the estimated jackpot prize is $303 million), the cash value of the haul — $132.8 million — wouldn’t have paid for Season 2 of Apple TV+’s hit show Severance.

Incredibly, reports have each episode of the show — which starts its second season Friday — costing upward of $20 million to produce. For watchers of the show, that number may seem like a bit of a head-scratcher, as most of the action takes place in a handful of rooms, but, well, we’re not Hollywood types, so we’ll just have to accept that if someone wins Powerball Wednesday, they likely won’t be producing any shows for the streamer.

And while either the $303 million or the $132.8 million won’t turn you into an Apple TV+ producer, you could certainly throw yourself one heck of a waffle party.

At any rate, this will mark the 17th drawing since the last time a Powerball winner was crowned, dating back to Dec. 7, when a ticket-buyer in New York won the $256 million prize.

Monday’s drawing for a possible $285 million jackpot — with winning numbers 4, 6, 16, 39, and 66 and a red Powerball of 9 — did yield one Match 5 winner from Virginia, who took home a million dollars for hitting all five white balls.

Lottery Geeks estimates nearly 11.5 million tickets were sold for Monday’s drawing.

Mega Millions grows as well

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s Mega Millions top prize sits at $95 million after nobody won the jackpot last Friday.

The most recent numbers — 9, 23, 39, 65, and 66 and a gold Mega Ball of 22 — came up empty as far as anyone going six-for-six. Nobody even went five-for-five on the white balls for a million-dollar bounty.

Lottery Geeks estimates about 9.7 million tickets were sold for last Friday’s drawing.

Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1.

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