Topline
The Powerball jackpot surged to $1.73 billion—the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history—after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn Monday night, although the winner will take home a much smaller amount after paying their taxes.
Powerball tickets are seen on a counter after being purchased in a store on in Miami, Florida.
Key Facts
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can choose between a $1.73 billion payout spread over 30 annual installments or a lump sum cash prize of $756.6 million—usually the more popular choice.
If the lump sum payment is chosen, the amount will drop to $575 million after a mandatory federal tax withholding of 24%.
Depending on the winner’s taxable income, they may face a federal marginal rate of up to 37%, further slashing the amount to $476.65 million.
If the winner picks the installment option, their annual payments of around $57.66 million could drop to $36.3 million, if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
Depending on their state of residence, the winner could face further taxes, as some states like New York levy a 10.9% tax on lottery winnings, while others like Texas, Florida, and California don’t tax them at all.
Big Number
1-in-292.2 million. Those are the abysmal odds a ticket buyer will have to overcome to win the Powerball jackpot. This is still slightly better than the Mega Millions jackpot’s odds of 1-in-302.6 million.
Surprising Fact
This is the fourth time this year that a lottery jackpot amount has crossed $1 billion. Prior to this, there had only been eight other billion-dollar jackpots in U.S. history.
What To Watch For
The next drawing for the Powerball jackpot will take place on Wednesday night.
Key Background
The $1.4 billion jackpot is the second biggest so far this year and the third biggest in Powerball’s history. In August, a single ticket sold in Florida won the $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot—the largest prize so far this year. The Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have crossed $1 billion nine times and all of these instances occurred after 2016. Seven of the nine billion-dollar jackpots have taken place in the last three years. This is a result of a deliberate tweak to the formulas of the lotteries, which has severely worsened individual odds while raising jackpot sizes.
Further Reading
Powerball Jackpot Rises To $1.55 Billion—Here’s What The Winner Will Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
Correction (10/10): This story has been updated to clarify that the most recent Powerball drawing took place on Monday.
