Powerball jackpot rises to $1.9b – the highest in global history

A record Powerball jackpot grew to an even larger $1.9 billion after no one won the lottery drawing on Saturday night.

The numbers for Saturday’s drawing were: white balls 28, 45, 53, 56, 69 and red Powerball 20.

Now, the jackpot has increased once again, making it the largest sum in lottery history. However, the winner will have to have nearly half of the earnings wiped off in a series of taxes.

The website of the California Lottery Association said the next chance for someone to get lucky will be Monday.

A record Powerball jackpot grew to an even larger $1.9 billion after no one won the lottery drawing on Saturday night

Hector Solis holds up lottery tickets purchased with his co-workers for the Saturday drawing of the Powerball lottery at the Bluebird Liquor store in California. There was no winner in the drawing and the next chance to win will be Monday

The new $1.9 billion jackpot is for a winner who is paid through an annuity over 29 years. Winners of lottery jackpots usually prefer a lump sum of cash, which for Monday’s drawing would be $929.1 million, the California lottery site said.

The Powerball prize keeps getting more massive because of the inability of anyone to overcome the long odds of 1 in 292.2 million and win the jackpot. 

To take the top prize, players must match all five white balls and one red Powerball.

Since there was no winner in Saturday’s drawing, the jackpot now rolls over to Monday. With Powerball, there are drawings three times a week.

However, tax deductions will lower the take home prize by millions.

Winners can either opt to receive a series of payments over nearly three decades and receive close to the $1.9 billion promised, or cash out for a single payment that is significantly taxed.

If multiple people win, then the prize would have to be split.

Before the winner can walk away with a single payment of the prize money of about $929.1 million, a 24 percent federal tax withholding on gambling winnings will be applied. 

This would immediately reduce that amount by $223 million for a single prize winner, who would take home $706 million, according to Forbes.

Then an additional $97 million will be pulled for the top federal marginal rate of 37 percent, which would lower the prize amount to $470 million.

For those opting to receive payments over about 29 years, they would expect to get $50 million per year. But the federal tax would reduce that amount annually to $31.5 million, Forbes reported. 

Depending on the winner’s state, more money might be deducted. 

Pam DeBlois, 73, holds her Powerball tickets at a Pick ‘n Save store in Madison, Wis., where she said she’s bought most of her lottery tickets over the past several decades. The Powerball jackpot recently reached a record high of $1.9 billion after no one won on Saturday

The grand prize now stands at $1.9 billion with a cash option of $929.1 million for the next drawing on Monday

It has been nearly three months since anyone hit all six numbers and took the lottery’s top prize, with a $206.9 million jackpot win in Pennsylvania on August 3

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No one has hit all six numbers since August 3 when the jackpot was $206.9 million, a testament to how slim the odds are of winning the jackpot: one in 292.2 million. 

Although the top prize has yet to be claimed, six tickets won a $1 million prize in Saturday’s drawing by matching five white balls, including two in California, two in Michigan, one in Maryland and one in Texas.

Another 17 tickets won a $150,000 prize while there were 80 winners of $50,000 each. 

More than 3.8 million tickets won cash prizes totaling above $38 million, Powerball said.

The Powerball jackpot has only been claimed five times this year.

Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Tickets for a chance to win the Powerball jackpot are $2 each.

Winning draws are broadcast live each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10.59pm Eastern Time. They are also streamed live online at Powerball.com.

Cashier Ronald Francisco Marin rubs for luck purchased lottery tickets on the back of a bluebird at the Bluebird Liquor store in Hawthorne, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022

Winning draws are broadcast live each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10.59pm Eastern Time. They are also streamed live online at Powerball.com