The Powerball lottery game has reached a staggering $1.73 billion jackpot, the second largest in its history and the fourth largest in U.S. lottery history. The jackpot has been rolling over for 35 consecutive drawings since July 19, when a ticket purchased in California won the $1.08 billion prize.
How to Play Powerball
Powerball is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Players select five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26. The cost of a ticket is $2, and players can add a Power Play option for an extra $1 to multiply their non-jackpot winnings.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, while the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9. The drawings are held three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at approximately 10:59 p.m. ET.
Winning Numbers for Wednesday Night’s Drawing
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 Powerball 10 with a Power Play of 2X. The results are still pending, but if a lucky player wins the jackpot, they will have the option of taking the annuity payment, which is paid out over 30 years, or the cash option, which is an estimated $756.6 million before taxes.
The jackpot is now the fourth-largest U.S. lottery prize after rolling over for 35 consecutive drawings.
Previous Powerball Jackpot Winners in 2023
There have been four Powerball jackpot winners so far in 2023, according to powerball.com:
- $754.6 million — Feb. 6; Washington.
- $162.6 million — Mar. 4; Virginia.
- $252.6 million — April 19; Ohio.
- $1.08 billion — July 19; California.
The last Michigan player to win a Powerball jackpot was Cristy Davis, of Waterford. Davis won the game’s $70 million jackpot on Feb. 12, 2020.
Other Big Lottery Prizes
The Mega Millions jackpot also took a leap forward after no one matched all six numbers on Tuesday night. The current Mega Millions jackpot is worth an estimated $48 million, with a cash option of $21.2 million.
Here are the nation’s all-time top 10 Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots:
- $2.04 billion — Nov. 7, 2022; California (Mega Millions).
- $1.73 billion — Oct. 11, 2023; TBA (Powerball).
- $1.586 billion — Jan. 13, 2016; California, Florida, Tennessee (Powerball).
- $1.08 billion — July 19, 2023; California (Powerball).
- $768.4 million — Mar. 27, 2019; Wisconsin (Powerball).
- $758.7 million — Aug. 23, 2017; Massachusetts (Powerball).
- $754.6 million — Feb. 6, 2023; Washington (Powerball).
- $731.1 million — Jan. 20, 2021; Maryland (Powerball).
- $699.8 million — Oct. 4, 2021; California (Powerball).
- $687.8 million — Oct. 27, 2018; Iowa, New York (Powerball).