Powerball Jackpot Over $900M, No. 8 All Time, Two Rollovers Away From $1 Billion

Business is picking up in Powerball world. One week ago, an estimated 26.2 million tickets were sold for the Monday drawing (about 51% more than the previous Monday). For the Wednesday drawing two days later, Lottery Geeks estimates ticket sales hit 28 million (up about 34%, week-over-week). And for Saturday’s drawing, estimated sales came in at a whopping 52.1 million (a 52% increase over the prior Saturday).

It’s getting serious. And with good reason. Nobody has won the jackpot since May 2, a streak of 42 drawings without a perfect six-for-six ticket, and the grand prize for Monday night stands at an estimated $905 million, or $391.9 million as a lump-sum cash payment. This is rarefied air — the eighth-biggest Powerball jackpot (by annuity estimate) of all time.

The jackpot has hit five times in 2026. Prior to the current run, it had not rolled over for more than six weeks before hitting again, with the largest jackpot a $250.8 million score in Arkansas on March 2.

The top prize is now closing in on four times that amount. If nobody wins either Monday or Wednesday, the Powerball jackpot will almost assuredly cross the $1 billion mark Saturday for just the eighth time in history.

You know it’s getting real when CNN is reporting on it:

In this past Saturday’s drawing, the winning numbers were 5, 9, 35, 54, and 63 with a red Powerball of 7. Five tickets connected on all five white balls but not the red ball, with four of those winning $1 million. One sold in Texas included the Power Play to make it a $2 million winner.

Monday night’s drawing will be the ninth since Powerball expanded to the U.K., which presumably plays a minor role in the increased ticket sales.

More modest Mega

Things are decidedly less exciting on the Mega Millions side of the street, where the jackpot hit on July 28 and is still working its way back up toward nine digits.

It sits at an estimated $80 million (cash option: $34.4 million) for Tuesday night’s drawing. In the most recent drawing, on Friday, the winning numbers were 17, 20, 32, 54, and 57 with gold Mega Ball 23. The largest prize won was $50,000 — by a player who got four white balls and the Mega Ball and hit a 5x prize multiplier.

The sales estimates are a far cry from the numbers Powerball is pulling in, with Lottery Geeks calculating Friday’s Mega Millions ticket sales at approximately 4.3 million. That’s about 8% of the latest Powerball estimates.

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 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