The odds of winning the jackpot are an abysmal one in 292.2 million.
WASHINGTON — The near-record Powerball jackpot skyrocketed to an estimated $825 million ahead of Saturday night’s drawing.
Saturday’s winning numbers were 19-31-40-46-57, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 3
The $825 million Powerball jackpot is the game’s second-largest prize ever and the fifth-largest in U.S. history. There has been no grand prize winner since Aug. 3 — that’s 36 consecutive drawings with no big winner.
The odds of winning the jackpot are an abysmal one in 292.2 million. The long odds are designed to limit jackpot winners, which in turn allows the grand prize to swell.
If there is no winner, the next drawing could have an even bigger prize.
Jackpot winners who choose to take their riches through an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners opt for cash, which for Saturday’s drawing would be an estimated $410.2 million.
Those winnings also would be subject to federal taxes. Many states tax lottery winnings, too.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball holds the world record for largest jackpot with a whopping $1.586 billion prize won in 2016. That prize was shared by winners in Tennessee, Florida and California.
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Top 10 biggest US lottery jackpots
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $825 million (estimated) Powerball, Oct. 29, 2022
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
- $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
- $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)
- $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
Powerball jackpot winners have the option of receiving an annuity payment, paid over 29 years, or a lump sum payment. There have been five Powerball jackpot winners so far in 2022.
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