The Powerball drawing on Wednesday night had a record-breaking $1.73 billion jackpot, making it the second-biggest lottery prize in U.S. history.
The winning numbers for the Powerball jackpot were 22-24-40-52-64, with the Powerball number being 10.
In 2021, Powerball expanded to three nights a week, adding a Monday drawing to its Wednesday and Saturday games. The addition of the extra drawing was aimed at creating larger and faster growing jackpots.
This is the ninth time that either Powerball or Mega Millions has had a jackpot that reached into the billion-dollar territory, often referred to as “billion-with-a-b”.
The current record for the largest U.S. lottery prize is a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California in November 2020. Since then, there have been 35 consecutive Powerball drawings without a jackpot winner.
If the $1.73 billion prize is taken as a single lump sum, it would be worth $757 million. The larger amount is the advertised value of the prize over its lifetime if the winner chooses the 29-year annuity option.
However, federal taxes would take nearly 40% of the prize amount, with additional state taxes potentially applying on top of that.
Powerball tickets, priced at $2 each, are sold in 45 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The states of Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah do not participate in the Powerball lottery.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
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