WASHINGTON — It's been months since Powerball had a grand prize winner -- and the streak held Wednesday night, sending the next jackpot into the top five largest lottery prizes in U.S. history.
Powerball's jackpot for Wednesday night's drawing had already surged to become the eighth-largest U.S. jackpot in history. On Tuesday, the prize rose from $680 to a feverish $700 million, and rose again to $715.1 million by drawing time Wednesday night.
Wednesday's winning numbers were 19-36-37-46-56, Powerball 24 and Powerplay 2. Players must match all five numbers and the Powerball to win the jackpot. Nobody won the jackpot, but six tickets matched the first five, netting players in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and New York $1 million. On Monday, one player in Texas won $1 million after matching all five numbers.
An estimated $800 million will be on the line during the next Powerball drawing on Saturday, Oct. 29. It would be the second largest jackpot in Powerball history.
The current Powerball jackpot has been growing since early August. The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292.2 million.
Americans were sent into a lottery craze this summer when a near-record $1.377 billion Mega Millions jackpot was on the line in July. Two people from Illinois came forward in September to claim that prize, but they chose to stay anonymous.
Earlier this month, two winners snagged a $494 million Mega Millions prize. One of those winning tickets was sold in Fort Myers, Florida, which was battered by Hurricane Ian in late September.
Powerball still holds the world record for largest jackpot with a whopping $1.586 billion prize won in 2016. That prize was shared by winners in Tennessee, Florida and California.
Top 10 biggest US lottery jackpots
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $800 million (estimated) Powerball, Oct. 29, 2022
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
- $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
- $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)
- $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
Powerball jackpot winners have the option of receiving an annuity payment, paid over 29 years, or a lump sum payment. There have been five Powerball jackpot winners so far in 2022.