Posted on: September 26, 2023, 08:30h.
Last updated on: September 26, 2023, 08:30h.
The recent Powerball drawing dashed the hopes of lottery players across the country, as no one matched the six winning numbers to claim the $785 million annuitized jackpot. This prize, had it been won, would have ranked as the fourth-largest in the history of the game.
As a result, the jackpot amount will roll over for the 29th consecutive time, leading to an estimated $835 million prize for the upcoming Wednesday night drawing. The winner can choose to receive the amount over 30 years or opt for a one-time cash value of $390.4 million, before taxes.
If won, the $835 million jackpot will become the fourth-largest prize ever offered in Powerball’s history since it began in 1992.
The winning numbers for Monday’s drawing were 10-12-22-36-50 with a red Powerball number of 4. The Power Play multiplier for the drawing was 2x.
Since the July 19 drawing, no ticket has matched the six winning numbers. However, three tickets sold in Florida matched the five white balls, winning $1 million each. Another ticket, sold in Oregon, also matched the five white balls. Unfortunately, none of these tickets had the $1 add-on Power Player, which would have doubled their prizes to $2 million.
Furthermore, 32 tickets matched four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000 each. Additionally, six tickets matched four white numbers and the red Powerball with the Power Play option, earning $100,000 each in winnings.
Powerball representatives announced that more than 1.2 million tickets won some amount of money in the Monday night drawing. However, nearly 929,000 of these tickets only won $4 by matching the red Powerball.
Top 10 Powerball Jackpots
- $2.04 Billion — Nov. 7, 2022 — CA
- $1.586 Billion — Jan. 13, 2016 — CA, FL, TN
- $1.08 Billion — July 19, 2023 — CA
- $835 Million (est.) — Sept. 27, 2023
- $768.4 Million — March 27, 2019 — WI
- $758.7 Million — Aug. 23, 2017 — MA
- $754.6 Million — Feb. 6, 2023 — WA
- $731.1 Million — Jan. 20, 2021 — MD
- $699.8 Million — Oct. 4, 2021 — CA
- $687.8 Million — Oct. 27, 2018 — IA, NY
The estimated Powerball jackpot of $835 million currently holds the ninth spot among the richest lottery jackpots in US history. Out of the top 10, four are from Powerball and six are from rival Mega Millions.
Consider Other Options
Financial advisors often advise against regular lottery play or expecting it to be a sound financial investment. According to the editors and writers at Investopedia, the chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are incredibly slim.
Assume you went to the largest stadium in the world — which happens to be in North Korea. Imagine the stadium was filled to capacity and everyone inside was entered in a lottery with a single winner. In that case, your odds of winning would be one in 150,000. Would you be sitting on the edge of your seat in that stadium as they were announcing the winner?” The Investopedia Team asked.
The article titled “The Lottery: Is It Ever Worth Playing?” by Investopedia highlights the overwhelming odds against winning the Powerball jackpot. To put it into perspective, the Investopedia team mentioned that the odds of winning are equivalent to filling that same massive stadium more than 1,947 times with people and having them participate in a single lottery drawing.
Investopedia further mentions that research conducted by mathematicians indicates that spending $1,000 on Powerball or Mega Millions tickets results in nearly a 50% chance of winning less than $70, an almost 90% chance of winning less than $100, and a 99% probability of winning less than $600.