What would be the fifth-largest jackpot in Powerball history – an estimated $865 million – is up for grabs Wednesday night, a day after a ticket in New Jersey won a Mega Millions grand prize worth more than $1 billion.
The Powerball jackpot in play Wednesday jumped from $800 million after no tickets matched all six numbers in Monday night’s drawing. A jackpot winner in Wednesday’s drawing could choose to receive the money in annuitized payments or take a lump sum estimated at $416.1 million.
The drawing will come a day after Tuesday’s momentous Mega Millions prize. Tuesday’s estimated $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot was won by a ticket sold in the Garden State, lottery officials said without immediately saying where in New Jersey the ticket was sold.
The winning Mega Millions numbers Tuesday were: 7, 11, 22, 29, 38 and Mega Ball 4.
The $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot, if confirmed at that level, would be rank fifth in that game’s history. The holder could opt for the full jackpot in annual payments or take an estimated $537.5 million lump-sum payment, the lottery has said.
This is the second Powerball jackpot to surpass $800 million this year. The Powerball grand prize was last won in January, when a ticket in Michigan scored a prize worth $842.4 million. Since then, 36 consecutive drawings have taken place without a jackpot winner, according to Powerball.
The largest Powerball jackpot prize – and the largest US lottery prize – ever won was $2.04 billion by a ticket purchased in California in November 2022, according to the lottery.
Wednesday’s estimated $865 million jackpot would rank fifth on Powerball’s all-time list. Ranking second through fourth are $1.765 billion (one ticket in California; 2023); $1.586 billion (three tickets; 2016); and $1.08 billion (one ticket in California, 2023).
Winning the Powerball jackpot means a ticket matched all five white balls plus the red Powerball. The odds of winning any prize in a Powerball drawing are 1 in 24.9, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. ET in Tallahassee, Florida.
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