Kentucky Player Hits Powerball Jackpot For $167.3 Million, Tests Our Editorial Standards

We here at Lottery Geeks pride ourselves on our professionalism, decorum, and good taste, and as such we present to you this bit of good news: The Powerball jackpot has been won.

Yes, that’s correct. A lucky ticket-buyer in Kentucky on Saturday night matched all five white balls, hit the red Powerball, and won a jackpot worth $167.3 million. If they choose the cash option, they will walk away with $77.3 million.

The winning numbers on the ticket, for those scoring at home, included four so-called “birthday numbers” in the white ball section: 1, 12, 14, and 18. The red Powerball was (obviously, as they only go up to 26) also a birthday number, coming in at 2.

As for the final white ball? That number — again, remember: professionalism, decorum, and good taste — was 69.

Compounding matters for our professionalism, decorum, and good taste department is the fact the winning ticket, according to the Kentucky Lottery, was sold at a place called Clark’s Pump-N-Shop in Georgetown.

These are trying times for us at Lottery Geeks.

At any rate, the $167.3 million is the biggest jackpot win in Kentucky history, and it’s the third Powerball jackpot hit this year. It was previously won in California on March 29 for $526.5 million and in Oregon on Jan. 18 for $328.5 million.

Lottery Geeks estimates 12.7 million tickets were sold for Saturday’s drawing, and the next Powerball drawing is set for Monday night, with the top prize resetting to $20 million.

Mega Millions marching upward, $10M at a time

While we’re here, it’s worth noting nobody won Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, pushing Tuesday’s top prize to an estimated $70 million. This after previous jackpots of a nice, round $60 million Friday and the starting point of $50 million last Tuesday.

The numbers drawn Friday were 38, 40, 60, 62, 70, and a gold Mega Ball of 9. These are easy numbers to digest for our professionalism, decorum, and good taste squad.

Lottery Geeks estimates 4.8 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