Powerball Jackpot Climbs to $1.6 Billion: How Much Will the Next Winner Get in Cash?

The Powerball jackpot is not going to be worth $1.5 billion anymore, because thanks to additional ticket sales, it has now climbed to $1.6 billion. The next Powerball draw will be on Saturday, and the prize pool might still grow as interest in the new record-setting prize increases.

As for the previous draw, which had the previous second-highest jackpot prize worth $1.2 billion, the winning numbers were 2, 11, 22, 35, 60, and the red Powerball 23. Nobody won that draw, resulting in the jackpot climbing to $1.5 billion, before climbing to the current amount of $1.6 billion.

While no big winner was confirmed for the Wednesday draw, there were several smaller winners. There were those who each won a $2 million prize in Arkansas, Montana, and New Jersey. Meanwhile, there were also ones who had tickets worth $1 million from Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia.

Each ticket is worth only $2 and is available across 45 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, the odds of winning that coveted Powerball jackpot is just 1 in 292 million per ticket.

Those who want to watch the next draw and see if they won can watch the Saturday draw live via the official Powerball website at 10:59 p.m. ET.

The Record-Setting $1.6 Billion Powerball Jackpot Prize

This is now the largest jackpot prize for any lottery, breaking the previous Powerball record set in 2016, which was worth $1.5863 billion. The previous prize was shared by three winners who each got the same number correctly. They hailed from California, Florida, and Tennessee, according to ABC-7.

The upcoming Saturday draw might also tie another record, and that is one for the most consecutive drawings without a winner. The current Powerball record for consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner stands at 40, and after Wednesday's draw, the current number of consecutive drawings without a winner stands at 39.

If there is still no winner declared by Saturday's draw, not only will the jackpot go up and set yet another record, but it will tie the current record for consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner.

How Much Money Will the Winner Actually Get?

If there is indeed a winner next Saturday, he/she can choose between getting it via an annuity or getting it via a lump sum.

Those who choose the annuity payments can get a fraction of the winnings annually over 29 years. Taxes will still be deducted from the winnings.

Meanwhile, the most common one that winners often choose is the lump sum option, though the estimated cash prize is only around $782.4 million, and that is before taxes are even considered.

According to CNBC, all winners have to pay federal taxes after they win. Depending on which state they are from, they also have to pay an additional state tax. Currently, there are eight states that do not tax lottery winners: California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State, and Wyoming.

The states or territories with the highest state tax rates for lottery winners are New York, Maryland, Washington D.C., and Oregon.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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