Topline
The Powerball jackpot prize rose to $1.5 billion—the seventh biggest lottery prize of all time—after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night, although the eventual winner will take home a much smaller payout after taxes and deductions.
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Key Facts
The six numbers drawn on Wednesday night were 25, 33, 53, 62, 66 and Red Powerball 17.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can pick between taking the $1.5 billion prize split across 30 annual installments or a one-time cash payout of $686.5 million—the preferred choice for most winners.
If the cash reward is chosen, the winning will first drop to around $521.7 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner is likely to face a federal marginal rate of 37%, depending on their taxable income, further cutting their winnings to around $432.5 million.
If the installment option is chosen, the winner’s annual payments of $50 million would drop to $31.5 million after the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Depending on their state of residence, the winner could face additional taxes, as some states, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida, and California, don’t.
What To Watch For
The next Powerball jackpot draw is set to take place on Saturday night.
Big Number
1 in 292.2 million. Those are the astronomical odds a ticket buyer has to overcome to win the one and a half billion dollar prize. This is worse than the Mega Millions jackpot’s already poor odds of 1 in 290.4 million.
Key Background
In September, a $1.78 billion Powerball prize was split between two ticket buyers, one from Missouri and another from Texas. That is the biggest jackpot of the year so far, and the second-biggest lottery prize of all time. If a single winner emerges for the ongoing Powerball lottery, they will likely take home a bigger payout than September’s winners, as the prize would not have to be split. Last month, a single ticket sold in Georgia won the Mega Millions’ $980 million.