Powerball Surges to $1 Billion While Mega Millions Soars to $640 Million After 38 consecutive drawings without a winner, the Powerball jackpot has reached an astonishing $1 billion, one of the highest in U.S. history.
By Madeline Garfinkle Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- There has been no Powerball winner in 38 consecutive drawings.
- Meanwhile, a $2 million Mega Millions ticket was reportedly sold in South Carolina.
- Read when the next jackpot drawings will take place.
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Billion-dollar dreams are within reach as the Powerball jackpot skyrockets to a staggering $1 billion after no winning tickets were sold in Monday night's drawing for a $900 million prize.
The new jackpot is the third-highest in the country's history and will continue to grow until a winner emerges. The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday. Participants have the opportunity to win either $1 billion paid out over several years or a one-time lump sum of $516.8 million before taxes.
The highest recorded Powerball jackpot to date was $2.04 billion in November 2022. The winning ticket was sold in California. The second-highest jackpot was $1.6 billion in 2016, which was split among three winners — a couple in California, a woman in Florida and a couple in Tennessee.
Despite the high payouts, buying a winning Powerball ticket has remarkably low odds of 1 in 292.2 million, per NPR.
The most recent Powerball jackpot victory took place on April 19, with the grand prize amounting to nearly $253 million. However, since then, there have been 38 consecutive drawings without a winner.
The Powerball jackpot was $900 million in Monday's drawing. Michele Sandberg | Getty Images
Powerball is played across 45 states, as well as in Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Before the $1 billion Powerball drawing on Wednesday, Mega Millions is drawing its $640 million jackpot on Tuesday. Winners will receive an annual payout or a lump sum of $328 million cash before taxes.
Although there was no Mega Millions jackpot winner in the latest drawing, South Carolina Lottery officials announced on Monday that someone purchased a $2 million winning ticket in Orangeburg, South Carolina at the Gaz-Bah gas station for Friday's drawing. The ticket was purchased for $2.
The winning Mega Millions ticket matched all five numbers on the white balls that were drawn: 10, 24, 48, 51, 66 and the Megaball number 15. Additionally, the winner chose to add the Megaplier option for an additional dollar, which doubled the prize because the Megaplier number was 2. The fortunate individual now has 180 days to claim their prize, lottery officials wrote in the release.
