Powerball Jackpot Hits $1 Billion—Here’s What The Winner Could Take Home
Topline
The Powerball jackpot hit $1 billion—the second biggest lottery prize of 2025 so far—after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night, although the eventual winner will take home a much smaller payout after taxes and deductions.
A customer holds a number slip for Powerball lottery tickets.
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Key Facts
The six numbers drawn on Wednesday night were 10, 16, 29, 33, 69 and Red Powerball 22.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can choose between taking the billion-dollar prize split across 30 annualized payments or a lump-sum cash prize of $461.3 million—the preferred choice for most winners.
If the lump-sum payment is chosen, the winnings will first drop to around $351 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner would also face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further reducing the winnings to around $291 million.
If the installment route is picked, the winner’s annual payments of $33.3 million would fall to $21 million after the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
What To Watch For
The next Powerball jackpot draw will take place Saturday night.
Surprising Fact
A Powerball ticket buyer will need to overcome astronomical odds of 1 in 292.2 million to win the billion-dollar prize. This is worse than the Mega Millions jackpot’s already poor odds of 1 in 290.4 million.
Key Background
In September, a $1.78 billion Powerball prize was split between two ticket buyers, one from Missouri and another from Texas. That is the biggest jackpot of the year so far, and the second-biggest lottery prize of all time. Last month, a single ticket sold in Georgia won the Mega Millions’ $980 million. The Mega Millions winner, however, likely took home the larger amount, as the big Powerball jackpot had to be split between two winners. If a single winner emerges for the ongoing Powerball jackpot, they too would likely end up with a bigger payout than September’s joint winners.
Further Reading
Powerball Jackpot Now $930 Million—Here’s What Winner Could Take Home (Forbes)
This content is sourced from www.forbes.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
