Powerball Jackpot Soars to $856 Million

The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $856 million, capturing the attention of those who follow major lottery events. This amount is the largest for Powerball this year. If a single winner takes the lump-sum payout, they would receive $370.7 million before taxes.

This current jackpot ranks as the eighth-largest in Powerball history. For it to enter the top seven, it would need to exceed $1 billion. When considering both Powerball and Mega Millions, this prize ranks as the 16th-highest in U.S. lottery history.

Stephen Durrell, Powerball Product Group chair and Kansas Lottery executive director, commented, “Entering the top 10 largest Powerball jackpots is when we historically see a lot of players join in the game.”

The largest Powerball prize ever won was worth $2.04 billion. It was claimed by a single ticket in California in November 2022. This milestone remains the highest lottery win overall, yet it didn’t convert to a billion-dollar lump sum. At that time, the lump sum was $997.6 million won by Edwin Castro.

Adding a new dimension to this jackpot, players from the United Kingdom joined the game after Powerball tickets became available there on July 21. Inclusion of U.K. players could accelerate the growth of future jackpots. The jackpot has remained unwon since May 2, with 41 unsuccessful draws since that date.

Despite no one claiming the grand prize recently, some players have seen smaller successes, such as a $1 million win in Ohio for matching all five white balls during a recent drawing.

The upcoming draw will happen on Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET, though the odds of winning the jackpot remain steep at 1 in 292.2 million.