WASHINGTON, USA — The Powerball jackpot has jumped to an estimated $725 million after Wednesday's drawing failed to produce a winner.
It's now the eighth-largest prize in Powerball history, jumping up two places from just days ago. The $672 million on the line for Wednesday's drawing was the game's tenth-largest prize ever.
Even though there was no jackpot winner, there are still three people waking up newly-minted millionaires this morning.
A pair of tickets in Georgia and one in California got all five numbers right, but didn't get the Powerball. One of the Georgia tickets and the one in California also selected the Power Play option, meaning they'll take home $2 million instead of $1 million.
A winner, when one is eventually picked, will be able to claim monthly payments for part of the $725 million or take the lump sum of $345.7 million. The jackpot has been rising for weeks after a streak of drawings without a grand prize winner. And you won't have to wait long to see if you're the next winner. The next Powerball drawing is Saturday, Sept. 23.
Lottery players must match all five white balls and the Powerball to win the jackpot. The winner can choose to get the full amount through an annuity option — a sum paid out over 29 years. However, winners typically opt for the cash option.
The last time someone hit the Powerball jackpot was back in July, when one very lucky lottery player in California won $1.08 billion, which was the game's third largest prize in history. Since then, there have been 27 straight Powerball drawings without a grand prize winner.
It's been a big summer for huge lottery prizes. Last month, a single winning ticket sold in Florida won the $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot, the largest in the game's history.
What were the winning Powerball numbers for September 20, 2023?
The winning numbers were 16-27-59-62-63, Powerball 23 and Power Play 3 .
When is the Powerball drawing?
The Powerball drawing takes place live at 10:59 p.m. Eastern every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets, which cost $2 per play, are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
What are my chances of winning the Powerball?
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
Over the past few years, huge lottery jackpots have become more common as lottery officials have changed the rules and ticket prices to boost top prizes.
Powerball's biggest change came in 2021 when officials decided to add a Monday drawing to its weekly lineup of Wednesday and Saturday evening drawings. At the time of the announcement, Powerball proclaimed the addition of the Monday drawing would lead to "larger, faster-growing jackpots."
What are the largest Powerball jackpots?
- $2.04 Billion – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
- $1.586 Billion – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
- $1.08 Billion - July 19, 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\
- $725 Million (est.) - Sept. 23, 2023
- $699.8 Million – Oct. 4, 2021 – CA
- $687.8 Million – Oct. 27, 2018 – IA, NY