Powerball Dodges Players Again, Jackpot Swells to $835M

Posted on: September 26, 2023, 08:30h.

Last updated on: September 26, 2023, 12:48h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Powerball squashed the many hopes and dreams lottery players had on Monday night about winning the game’s $785 annuitized jackpot, which would have been its fourth-richest prize in history.

Powerball lottery odds Mega Million — The Powerball jackpot for the game’s Wednesday, September. 27 drawing is an estimated $835 million. It’s one of the 10 largest lottery prizes in U.S. history. (Image: Powerball)

With no ticket matching Monday’s six winning numbers, the prize rolls over for the 29th consecutive time. The projected jackpot paid out over 30 years for the Wednesday night drawing climbs to $835 million, with a one-time cash value of $390.4 million. Both amounts are before federal and possibly state income taxes.

At $835 million, the jackpot remains Powerball’s fourth-largest prize ever offered in the game’s history. Powerball began in 1992.

Monday’s numbers were 10-12-22-36-50 and the red Powerball 4. The Power Play multiplier was 2x.

No ticket has matched the six winning numbers since the July 19 drawing, when a player in California won a $1.08 billion prize.

Florida Wins Big

Though no player on Monday won the top prize, Powerball officials said three tickets sold in Florida matched the five white balls, but not the red Powerball, to win $1 million. A fourth ticket matching the five white balls was sold in Oregon.

None of those five tickets purchased the $1 add-on Power Player, which would have doubled their prizes to $2 million.

Thirty-two tickets for the Monday drawing matched the four white balls and the Powerball to win $50K each. Another six matched four white numbers and the red one with the Power Play added to claim $100K.

Powerball reps said there were more than 1.2 million winning tickets Monday night across the country. Nearly 929K, however, only doubled their $2 bet to win $4 by hitting the red Powerball.

Top 10 Powerball Jackpots

$2.04 Billion — Nov. 7, 2022 — CA
$1.586 Billion — Jan. 13, 2016 — CA, FL, TN
$1.08 Billion — July 19, 2023 — CA
$835 Million (est.) — Sept. 27, 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
$699.8 Million — Oct. 4, 2021 — CA
$687.8 Million — Oct. 27, 2018 — IA, NY

The $835 million estimated Powerball jackpot ranks ninth among the all-time richest lottery jackpots ever offered in the US. Powerball accounts for four, while rival Mega Millions accounts for the other six on the top 10 list.

Gamble Elsewhere

Financial advisors tell clients not to play the lottery, or at least not to play it regularly or with expectations of it paying off financially.

The Investopedia Team, which consists of the financial advice site’s editor-in-chief and senior editors and writers, wrote earlier this year that enthusiasm about winning Powerball and Mega Millions should be curbed.

Assume you went to the largest stadium in the world — which happens to be in North Korea. Imagine the stadium was filled to capacity and everyone inside was entered in a lottery with a single winner. In that case, your odds of winning would be one in 150,000. Would you be sitting on the edge of your seat in that stadium as they were announcing the winner?” The Investopedia Team asked.

“To equal the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot, you would have to fill that same stadium to capacity 1,947 more times and put all of those people together and have the same drawing with a single winner,” the team wrote in the article titled, “The Lottery: Is It Ever Worth Playing?”

Investopedia also cited research from mathematicians who have concluded that spending $1,000 on Powerball or Mega Millions tickets carries a nearly 50% probability of winning less than $70, a nearly 90% chance of winning less than $100, and a 99% likelihood of winning less than $600.