Powerball Closing In On Second Billion-Dollar Jackpot This Year

It was David Coverdale of Whitesnake who famously sang, “Here I go again.”

And if Powerball is the “I” in this ditty, then the “go again” is the threat of a second billion-dollar jackpot in three months.

Wednesday night’s drawing — the 41st since Sept. 6, when a pair of ticket-buyers (one in Missouri, the other Texas) split the $1.787 billion jackpot — is set for $930 million. If nobody wins, it’s a near-certainty that Saturday night’s jackpot will exceed the $1 billion mark.

As it stands now, if someone takes home the Wednesday prize (the cash value is $429 million), it will be the seventh largest jackpot awarded in Powerball history.

Monday night’s numbers — 8, 32, 52, 56, 64, and a red Powerball of 23 — did yield a single Match 5 winner in Florida. That lucky-ticket holder is $1 million richer as a result.

Lottery Geeks estimates 25.6 million tickets were sold for Monday’s drawing.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, Whitesnake.

Mini Mega

Friday night’s Mega Millions jackpot is a relatively paltry $70 million after nobody won Tuesday night’s drawing.

The numbers for that draw were 19, 32, 41, 49, 66, and a gold Mega Ball of 6. No one matched all five white balls, and Lottery Geeks estimates a little fewer than 4.5 million tickets were sold for the drawing.

While nobody won Tuesday’s drawing, a New Jersey ticket-buyer came forward to claim the $90 million jackpot won Dec. 2.

“I was up [the night of the drawing]. Hoping for something. Then — whomp — a bird hit my window,” the unnamed multi-millionaire said Monday when visiting the New Jersey Lottery office to claim the prize. “I knew something was coming for me, but I didn’t know just what.”

Lucky for the ticket-buyer, unlucky for the bird as these things go.

That victory was the sixth Mega Millions jackpot hit this year and, according to Mega Millions, it was the quickest jackpot turnaround since August 2023, when a Florida customer won $39 million just two drawings after another Florida ticket-holder took home a record $1.602 billion.

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, 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. $1.79 billion, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
3. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
4. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
6. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
7. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
8. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
9. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California

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. $820.6 million, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
5. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
6. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
7. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
8. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
9. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
10. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon