The stakes have never been higher as the Powerball Megamillions Jackpot soars to an unbelievable $1 billion - and someone could have the golden ticket this evening. (July 19).
With the Powerball jackpot topping $1 billion, millions of people across the country will be lining up at convenience stores, grocery and gas station counters hoping to hit it big.
The new jackpot for Wednesdayâs drawing would be the seventh highest in U.S. history and the third largest for Powerball. If a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Powerball number drawn, they have the option of taking the $1 billion prize in yearly increments paid out over 29 years or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes
Meanwhile, The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $720 million after no winning ticket was sold on Monday. Despite the gameâs long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, many will be hoping they can draft their resignation letters ahead of Friday's draw.
Follow our live blog for updates...
Woman was 'adamant' she would win top lottery prize - then pockets $200,000
One lucky individual in California has won the Powerball jackpot, becoming an overnight billionaire.
The estimated $1.08billion jackpot is the 7th largest in U.S. history and the 3rd largest in the history of the game.
The winning numbers for Wednesday night's drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24.
The winner can choose either $1.08 billion paid out in yearly increments or a $558.1 million, one-time lump sum before taxes.
The Wednesday, July 19, 2023 Powerball drawing has taken place, and the results are 7, 10, 11, 13, and 24, with Powerball number 24. The Power Play number is 2
You have to be extremely luck, as the odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The game is designed to build big prizes that draw more players, so no one wins the largest prize too often.
The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million.
To win the full billion, you have to match all six numbers - which is nearly impossible, but then again, there have been over 1,000 jackpot prize winners since the company started in 1992. Wednesday’s drawing would be the seventh highest in U.S. history and the third largest for Powerball.
Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1 billion Powerball jackpot, but expert says take it slow
If a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Powerball number drawn, they have the option of taking the $1 billion prize in yearly increments paid out over 29 years or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes.
Woman plays lottery on 'tough day' during her break - ends up winning $100,000
The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 38 drawings. The jackpot will keep growing until someone wins.
If you match most of the numbers, there are some decent prizes as well.
Those who match five numbers get a million-dollar prize, and those who correctly match five and the powerplay get $2 million. Powerball winners can either get $1 billion paid out in yearly increments or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes.
Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 pm ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.
You can watch live here
1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, November 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
2. $1.586 billion, Powerball, January 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
3. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, October 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
4. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, January 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
5. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
6. $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, January 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
7. $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
8. $758.7 million, Powerball, August 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
9. $754.6 million, Powerball, February 6, 2023 (one ticket, from Washington state)
10. $731.1 million, Powerball, January 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
Well the best thing to do to is to tune in to the Powerball drawing live, which will be broadcast from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.
You can also stream it live on Powerball's website or watch clips on their YouTube channel.
If you aren't able to watch a drawing, you can always check your numbers on the Powerball's website. Enter the date range of your drawing and your numbers to see if there was a match. The Powerball will only show numbers that have won a prize.
The Powerball is played in 45 states and in Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Only Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah do not sell Powerball tickets.
Tickets can be purchased in-person at petrol stations, corner stores and supermarkets, and some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
You're in luck if you live in Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Virginia, or Washington, D.C
Buying a Powerball ticket can be a simple process - but there's an important decision to make.
You can either buy a "Quick Pick", where a computer will generate numbers randomly, or you can pick the numbers yourself.
The cashier will see if you're interested in "power play" - which costs an extea buck - but multiplies all non-grand prize winnings by a factor of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10.
For "Quick Pick," say this: "I'd like a quick pick Powerball ticket." Then tell the cashier whether you want the multiplier or "power play."
To pick your own numbers, say this: "I'd like a Powerball ticket and I will pick my numbers."
With this option, you will fill out a playslip with your selections. Slips may also be up for grabs on the store floor, so you could fill it out before approaching the cashier. You will need to pick six Powerball numbers total: Five numbers between 1-69 and the Powerball number, which is one number between 1-26. Hand your slip to the cashier and you will receive a printout of those numbers. Again, you can choose to "power play" or not.
Such a huge jackpot can be a blessing and a curse.
While many have dreams of a carefree future with enough cash in their bank account to buy pretty much anything they want, it historically hasn't always turned out that way.
Many past winners have told how relationships with family, friends or partners have been ruined after a life-changing win.
Laurie Ruckel, a trusts and estates lawyer at Loeb & Loeb law firm in New York, told Reuters: "A big mistake people think: this is a lot of money so let me help everyone.
"There are plenty of people who know how to exploit that ignorance."
One such example is a a woman who was arrested for stealing her cousin's $1 million scratchcard winnings after he trusted her to cash it for him.
Iris Amador Argueta, 32, was accused of forging lottery documents to throw him off the scent after only transferring a small amount of the $1million (£747,155) jackpot to him in Long Island, New York, after the win in 2021.
After scooping the jackpot he asked his cousin to claim the lottery win on his behalf for a fee of $50,000 (£37,335) so he could remain anonymous, according to prosecutors.
Those playing the PowerBall in the US don’t actually need to be American citizens or residents, meaning that players from the UK can take part in the draw.
For a chance to win, a Briton or any other non-US citizen older than 18 would have to purchase a ticket from a licensed retailer in the US, however,
Unless you're an expat or someone with family or friends across the pond, that means getting on a long-haul flight and visiting a shop.
But a foreign winner could face additional taxes in their home country.
You have to be extremely lucky, as the odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The game is designed to build big prizes that draw more players, so no one wins the largest prize too often.
Your odds of winning are only slightly improved by buying more than one ticket. And the odds are so long that it's certainly not worth spending money you'll miss for more tickets, experts warn.
If buying one ticket gives you a 1 in 292.2 million chance of winning the jackpot, spending $10 for five number combinations improves your chances to only 5 in 292.2 million.
The same is true if you spend $100. So you could spend a lot of money on tickets and still almost undoubtedly not hit the jackpot. Lottery officials say the average player buys two or three tickets, meaning they’re putting money down on a dream with very little chance it will pay off in a jackpot win.
The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million.
So, as the saying goes, play responsibly,.
If you win, you should start deciding who you are going to tell. That's according to Shean Fletcher, a wealth adviser in Kansas City, Missouri.
First and foremost is to secure the winning ticket by putting it in a secure place such as a fireproof safe. Then you should start putting your “team” together, Shean advised.
That likely includes your closest, most trusted family members, like your spouse, a parent or sibling, as well as a financial adviser, lawyer and certified public accountant. Then you can start making plans about what you want to do with the money.
“After the initial excitement, you know, take a deep breath and take it slow,” he added.
(AP)The largest — a whopping $2.04 billion — was a Powerball jackpot that hit on Nov. 8, 2022, with the winning ticket sold in California.
The next largest jackpot was also a Powerball prize, at $1.586 billion on Jan. 13, 2016. But that prize was split among three winning tickets, sold in California, Florida and Tennessee.
The third, fourth and fifth largest were each Mega Millions prizes, at $1.537 billion going to a single winner in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018; $1.35 billion won in Maine earlier this year on Jan. 13; and $1.337 billion won in Illinois on July 29, 2022.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EST. They're broadcast live from the Florida Lottery draw studio located in Tallahassee. The drawings are also live-streamed online at Powerball.com.
The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand.
If a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Powerball number drawn, they have the option of taking the $1 billion prize in yearly increments paid out over 29 years or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes..
Those who match five numbers get a million-dollar prize, and those who correctly match five and the powerplay get $2 million. prize in the past 38 drawings. The jackpot will keep growing until someone wins.
Given $1 billion has NINE zero's, you can buy pretty much anything you want.
A billion dollars could buy you around 200 Bugatti Mistral Roadsters, dozens of eight-seater private jets, or several private islands in the Caribbean. But don't make the mistake of thinking you could never spend it all, warned Shean Fletcher, a wealth advisor in Kansas City, Missouri.
Among things to keep in mind are that huge jackpots also bring huge tax bills, he said.
Not just on the money itself, but high-dollar houses, cars, planes and other property also usually come with big recurring tax and upkeep bills. The idea that lottery winners can just spend lots of money daily forever is a fallacy that has seen more than one lottery winner blow through their winnings, Shean added.
“So by far, the biggest misconception that we hear or read and see is, is that the money seems to be infinite when it certainly is not,” Shean said.
To win the jackpot, you need to beat the whopping 1 in 292.2 million odds by matching the numbers on the five white balls and the red Powerball.
Statistics professor Rong Chen said in a Q&A article from Rutgers University that any combination has the same odds. Being selected in the past doesn't mean a combination is more or less likely to win: "Those numbers have the same chance of winning as any other number today."
Nevertheless, Here are the 10 most common numbers to be drawn on the five white balls for the past seven years.
Here are the 10 most common numbers for the red Powerball in the last seven years.
The main number that has been drawn the least number of times during the last seven years is 13. The number had only been drawn 47 times and has not been seen since early June.
As for the red Powerball, one number holds the least-drawn spot: 15, drawn just 27 times in the past seven years. It has been a dry period for number 15 as it hasn't been drawn since February 2023.
