Powerball Jackpot Wednesday Is Ninth Biggest In History

Sound the alarm! This is not a drill. We have officially entered Top 10 territory!

In short: Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing — currently set at an estimated $786 million — would provide a jackpot winner the ninth-largest Powerball payout in the history of the game.

Not too shabby, eh?

This will be the 41st drawing since the last time someone took down the top prize, which happened to be $20 million back on May 2.

Clearly, nobody won the jackpot Monday night — numbers 8, 30, 41, 48, 54, and a red Powerball of 4 — though one ticket-buyer in Wisconsin matched all five white balls (along with purchasing the Power Play multiplier) and is now $2 million richer.

Lottery Geeks estimates over 25 million tickets were sold for Monday’s drawing.

Worth noting: This will be the seventh drawing since lotto players in the U.K. have been added to the pool. 

Also notable: The jackpot jumped $38 million from Monday’s total, which itself jumped $41 million from Saturday. At that rate, Powerball would cross the billion-dollar threshold in six more drawings. And if “lottery fever” catches … could be five. Or even four.

Of course, we are still a ways away from the top, which was a $2.04 billion jackpot won on Nov. 7, 2022, in California.

Dare to dream, though, yeah?

Mega Millions 

Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing will be the second since a $800 million jackpot was won in Florida, and as a result it is worth $60 million.

Friday’s numbers were 4, 18, 26, 43, 51, and a gold Mega ball of 4.

Nobody matched all five white balls, and Lottery Geeks estimates about 4.9 million tickets were sold for that drawing.

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 and the U.K., 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. $1.82 billion, Powerball, Dec. 24, 2025, won in Arkansas
3. $1.79 billion, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
4. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
5. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
6. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
7. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
8. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
10. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon

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. $834.9 million, Powerball, Dec. 24, 2025, won in Arkansas
5. $820.6 million, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
6. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
7. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
9. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
10. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine