The winning numbers for Wednesday night's drawing were 02, 11, 22, 35, 60 and a Powerball of 23. There have now been 39 straight drawings without a jackpot winner since the last one was hit on Aug. 3. So another record is in sight: The Powerball mark for consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner is 40.
$1.59 billion. That’s the value of Powerball’s largest jackpot, which was shared between three winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016. The lottery said this prize holds the world record for the largest lottery jackpot.
Jackpot winners can get their prize as an annuity paid out over 29 years or as a lump sum payment. The cash value of Saturday night's jackpot will be at least an estimated $745.9 million. All of that is before taxes.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one-in-292.2 million. Powerball tickets are $2 each. They're sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Though there was no jackpot winner for Wednesday night’s draw, Powerball said more than 7.2 million tickets won cash prizes totaling nearly $75 million. Of these, 16 tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million, three of these having opted to double their winnings through an additional $1 a play.
Powerball lottery winners can choose between receiving the full prize as an annuity—a series of 30 payments paid over 29 years—or as a single lump sum payment. The single payment is less than the advertised jackpot (which emphasizes the value of the annuity prize) but is the most popular option among winners and Saturday’s cash prize is worth an estimated $746 million.
A mandatory federal tax withholding of 24% on gambling winnings would immediately reduce that amount by $179 million for a single prize winner, who would take home $567 million, though the taxman is far from finished.
The top federal marginal rate is 37%, meaning a single taxpayer with no other income, dependents or tax deductions like charitable giving would need to set aside an additional $97 million for taxes and can expect the overall prize to be whittled down to $470 million.
State and city taxes, depending on where the winner lives and where they bought the winning ticket, are very likely to eat into this sum further.
A winner opting for the annuity payment is set to receive around $50 million a year, though this would be reduced to $31.5 million by federal taxes and would likely be cut further by state and city taxes.
Source: GMB
