6th-largest US jackpot ever; 8th-largest cash value
By Todd Northrop
For only the 6th time in the history of United States lotteries, a lottery jackpot has grown to $400 million or more.
The new high-water mark of $400 million for the current Powerball jackpot was achieved after no winning tickets were sold for Saturday night's $330.8 million grand prize.
The lump-sum cash payout value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $227.8 million. After-tax cash and annuity prize amounts are reported state-by-state on the Jackpot Analysis page at USA Mega, a web site devoted to the Powerball and Mega Millions multi-state lottery games.
This is the largest Powerball jackpot since August 7, 2013, when 3 winning tickets split a $448.4 million grand prize (see Three tickets to split $448 million Powerball jackpot, Lottery Post, Aug. 8, 2013).
Players should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries, and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs.
Wednesday's mammoth jackpot is the result of 15 consecutive draws without a winner. The run-up started as a $40 million prize on December 28, 2013.
The winning numbers for Saturday, February 15, 2014 were 2, 9, 14, 21, and 23, with Powerball number 3. The Power Play number was 3.
Even though nobody won the jackpot Saturday, 10 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 2 from Florida, 1 from Georgia, 1 from Iowa, 2 from Michigan, 1 from New York, 1 from Ohio, 1 from Pennsylvania, and 1 from Texas.
Only one of the second-prize winners purchased the Power Play option — the ticket sold in Texas. Because that ticket was purchased with the Power Play option their second-prize win is automatically doubled to $2 million. Power Play is not available in California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts.
108 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $10,000. Of those tickets, 16 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $30,000, and 12 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $5,937 this drawing. By law, California awards all prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold and the number of tickets that won at each prize level.
Following the Saturday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $69.2 million from its previous amount of $330.8 million. The cash value was raised by $38.3 million from its previous amount of $189.5 million.
The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.
When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, any non-jackpot prize is increased according to a fixed prize schedule, which can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.
Powerball is now played in 43 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.
A 44th Powerball state will be added later this year, as the state of Wyoming has approved a new state lottery with the intention of joining Powerball and other multi-state lottery games. (See Wyoming officially becomes 44th state with a lottery, Lottery Post, Mar. 14, 2013.)
Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com). The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Wednesday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 6th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 4th-largest Powerball jackpot ever. Brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.
If nobody wins Wednesday, it's anyone's guess how high it will go.
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $400 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $390 million, Mar. 6, 2007 - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $380 million, Jan. 4, 2011 - Idaho, Washington
- Powerball: $365 million, Feb. 18, 2006 - Nebraska
- The Big Game: $363 million, May 9, 2000 - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $340 million, Oct. 19, 2005 - Oregon
- Powerball: $338.3 million, Mar. 23, 2013 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $337 million, Aug. 15, 2012 - Michigan
- Powerball: $336.4 million, Feb. 11, 2012 - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $336 million, Aug. 28, 2009 - California, New York
- The Big Game: $331 million, Apr. 16, 2002 - Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $330 million, Aug. 31, 2007 - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $319 million, Mar. 25, 2011 - New York
- Mega Millions: $315 million, Nov. 15, 2005 - California
- Powerball: $314.9 million, Dec. 25, 2002 - West Virgina
- Powerball: $314.3 million, Aug. 25, 2007 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295.7 million, Jul. 29, 1998 - Indiana
- Powerball: $295 million, Aug. 25, 2001 - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $294 million, Jul. 2, 2004 - Massachusetts
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 14
- Mega Millions: 9
- The Big Game: 2
The Big Game is the original name of Mega Millions, from the game's first drawing on Sep. 6, 1996 through May 14, 2002. The name was changed to Mega Millions starting with the May 17, 2002 drawing.
Top 25 cash value jackpots
Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth.
Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 8th-largest cash value in U.S. history.
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($648 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Powerball: $227.8 million cash, Feb. 19, 2014 ($400 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $224.7 million cash, Aug. 15, 2012 ($337 million annuity) - Michigan
- Powerball: $223.3 million cash, Sep. 18, 2013 ($399.4 million annuity) - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $214 million cash, Aug. 28, 2009 ($336 million annuity) - California, New York
- Powerball: $211 million cash, Mar. 23, 2013 ($338.3 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Powerball: $210 million cash, Feb. 11, 2012 ($336.4 million annuity) - Rhode Island
- Mega Millions: $202.9 million cash, Mar. 25, 2011 ($319 million annuity) - New York
- Mega Millions: $194.4. million cash, Aug. 31, 2007 ($330 million annuity) - Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia
- Mega Millions: $185 million cash, Nov. 15, 2005 ($315 million annuity) - California
- The Big Game: $180 million cash, May 9, 2000 ($363 million annuity) - Illinois, Michigan
- Powerball: $177.3 million cash, Feb. 18, 2006 ($365 million annuity) - Nebraska
- Powerball: $170.5 million cash, Dec. 25, 2002 ($314.9 million annuity) - West Virginia
- Mega Millions: $168 million cash, July 2, 2004 ($294 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $167.7 million cash, Feb. 22, 2008 ($275 million annuity) - Georgia
- Powerball: $166 million cash, Aug. 25, 2001 ($295 million annuity) - Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $165.2 million cash, May 4, 2010 ($266 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $164.4 million cash, won Oct. 19, 2005 ($340 million annuity) - Oregon
- Mega Millions: $164 million cash, Feb. 28, 2006 ($270 million annuity) - Ohio
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Mega Millions: 12
- Powerball: 12
- The Big Game: 1
This is a large jackpot, but it won't get media attentiom until it pass $500 million.
6 pack Corona Extra + limes and 1 ticket sounds reasonable.
$2 POWERBALL LOTTERY TICKET WILL BE TURNED INTO $400 MILLION.
Don't care about media's attention. It's got my attention.
Of course, even when the jackpot has reset, it still has my attention.
It will get the local media attention when the winner is in their state. Dang vultures.
A win on Wednesday would be reason to enjoy a fine Cognac! In the backseat of my new Mulsanne ............
Bought my powerball ticket at the WAWA convenience store in central N..J. You can only use the lottery booth machine at this location.
Put my numbers on the betting slip and must have put it in the wrong way because it did a quick pick instead.Did not wish to spend another $2.00, so let it ride on the quick pick.
The quick pick did not generate one number that came out on Saturday. Four of my own significant numbers did come out, but that's the price paid for using one of those lottery machine booths.
Guess the strategy of buying one quick pick and one with my own selections is the best option, next time.
Did see Mr Todd Northrop on a CNN YouTube about the Powerball / Mega game. He did mention that winning the jackpot has less of a chance than being struck by lightning. Wonder if that comparison includes lightning strikes to homes, which occurs a lot of times across the country.
oh BUMMER Sorry to hear that, yes he says that but don't forget the shark
400MILL will start the frenzy.
$400 Million Woo Hoo
I just want 4-5 numbers! Received 30-day lay-off work notice and am scared to death but I have to get back out there. Have to push pursuing my PhD back to next year--it hurts. I am not going to give up playing my 2 lines! winning for some comes so easy but a strategy for others
Do you know your jackpot getting to high because there's no winner from yesterday's drawing?
Don't give your money away to california! You know they will win it all again.
Sorry, a Californian is here... waiting for the jackpot
Keeping playing folkssssssss !!!!
I have what i think is an interesting question to ask you guys...We all know that the odds of winning are rather small right. But we also know that ANYONE has a chance to win. Bearing this in mind, which is more dominant and a great reason to keep buying: the fear of missing out on your opportunity if YOUR chance/numbers are drawn and you somehow didn't buy? OR is it the HOPE that your numbers turns out to be the ones that are drawn? Or Both?
On the surface it may seem like a silly question, but personally i'm beginning to feel that initially when i started buying it was the HOPE of winning that drove me (and to a great degree of course it still does), BUT there are times when i freak out when i miss a draw and fret that my numbers may be drawn 'THAT NIGHT' and i forgot/missed/was late/ignored buying for that draw.
I'd love to hear what you all think...
That's usually how it works. No winner from the last draw means the jackpot goes up.
I never miss a draw. However, last December I decided to skip a MM draw. Just didn't feel like playing that one time. I never even thought about "what if"?
I typically play every Tx 2 Step, Lotto, MM, and PB, usually just one line to be in the game.
For this reason I almost always played QP's. But, last December I started playing my own numbers for MM, PB, SuperLotto, and Fantasy 5. Aside from Fantasy 5, my numbers didn't do any better than QP's, so I'm going back to QP's mainly because I don't want to miss out on buying my numbers and then those numbers hitting. My interest is waning somewhat, so I don't think I'll be buying tickets for every draw like I have been, after PB and MM resets.
It happened to my mom. She played the same numbers for years, and in our CA SuperLotto (old matrix), she matched 5/6 only she didn't buy tickets that night because she got busy. I forget what the 5/6 prize was that night, but I know that empty feeling vicariously through my mom...
These big jackpots are cool to see, but I don't know if it's a good strategy to buy more tickets. The odds are just so horrible with 1 or even a 100 tickets. Maybe I'll do one quick pick and one of my choice.
I have been playing the same PB numbers for a couple of years now and i never miss a draw.
SINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNER
MEMEMEMEMEMEMEME
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!!!!
Same here, I got 3 numbers last night (2+1) ... I play 2 lines with my own numbers
I play 5 lines for PB AND 5 lines for Ohio Classic. I have been playing these numbers for about 2 years and the most i have ever won is about $70.But i just keep on playing
I hear you Bukeye, but the question is why? which is more dominant for you at this point....Fear of missing out or still the hope of winning? For me its both but i must admitt the fear of missing out can be quite a buying motivator.
I understand your point.I never really think about the fear of missing out. For me it is always the hope of winning.
It's amazing that it didn't get hit this week with all those anniversary, birthday and ages type numbers. Eleven people hit five with no Powerball and 108 hit four with the Powerball. Very lucky it didn't get hit but I'll gladly take it.
That said the pot moves on to a $400,000,000 annuity or a one time lump sum of $227,800,000 leaving you a paltry $159,460,000 after your hefty donation to Uncle Sam and the Land of Lincoln if you live in Illinois.
Bad Luck!
Makes sense. That's how i generally approach it too, but recently the fear of missing out has been creeping in my mind much more than ever...maybe its because i'm broke and cant buy the 5 lines for each draw the way i normally do. LOL!!!!!
Good luck to you....not too much luck though, i'm sure you'll be happy with a second prize winner right? hahhaha
I have a very comfortable life but winning a big jackpot is always great. But remember DDOH hope is always better than fear.
C'mon Pia...give it up and share !!!!! .......how about 2 winners from Texas ?
Ohio hasnt had a winner in a long time. This is our turn.Its going to be OHIO this time.
Powerball.yeah!
NOPE! I'M STINGY.
MEMEMEMEMEMEMEME
SINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNER
Sorry Bukeye, New Jersey.
You're both wrong!
TexasTexasTexasTexasTexasTexasTexasTexas
Livonia Michigan
I agree!!!
That's the nicest Mobile home i've ever seen. Is it 12x60 or 14x70.
Uhhhhhhh....
3 would be ok.
Not!
One....ME!
LOL.
It's more likely a double wide which is only mobile until it's put together at its final site.
I may give it a try if I'm successful Monday winning Ohio's Classic Lotto, if not I'll continue trying to win OCL.
It's not a mobile home Stang!
I those rooms a lot. Traditional style interior decorating.
Here's the exterior style I like:
Here is my future kitchen. I like modern design.
Very nice Artist! Such vivid colors!
It has taken 16 draws to get to $400 million jumping from $330m, however in the past draw 15 jumped from $325mil to $587.5mil in draw 16 and $363mil in draw 13 to $590.5mil in draw 14. That is a long haul to the top.
C'mon, buy more tickets.
I Keep buying tickets hope once day, I will win the jackpot.
New Jersey has been winning a jackpot every month. You need a break.2014 is the Ohio year
I remember when members of this forum didnt think we'd ever cross the $400,000,000 mark. Ill gladly pick up the winners Jackpot Wednesday. My home will be this one in Maryland.
Priceless
Where should I move to, because I would not stay in my state?
I hope someone from california wins
California doesnt need it. Ohio needs it. You guys have Silicon Valley
I will settle for tuesday's mega millions jackpot and be under the radar of this big jackpot for powerball. Oregon needs a winner we have yet to get a mega millions winner and we are over due for another big powerball win since 2005.-weshar75
Florida has been on a role lately. This jackpot will be won by a Florida player.
Thats smart. I was thinking the same.
I agree. $154 million I will take that any day of the week. That is still a lot of money to me.-weshar75
Ohio Classics is $60.7 Million. If you opt for the lump sum, you walk away with about $21 million after taxes I will take that any day of the week :)