The Powerball jackpot for the lottery recreation’s Wednesday, October 19 drawing is an estimated $508 million.
Lottery gamers wait in line at a comfort retailer in Idaho. The Powerball jackpot for Oct. 19, 2022, is an estimated $508 million. (Picture: Salt Lake Tribune)
At $508 million, Wednesday’s draw is shifting nearer to reaching Powerball’s 10 largest jackpots within the recreation’s historical past. Powerball started in April 1992.
To crack the highest 10, the Powerball jackpot might want to keep away from being received on Wednesday evening and develop to at the very least $564.1 million. No tickets matched Monday evening’s profitable white ball numbers of 19, 30, 36, 46, 60, and the pink Powerball 25.
The final time the Powerball jackpot was north of half of a billion {dollars} was again on January 5, when two tickets offered in California and Wisconsin shared a $632.6 million prize.
The final Powerball ticket to match all six numbers occurred in the course of the August 3 drawing, when a ticket offered in Pennsylvania received $206.9 million. There have been 32 drawings since with out a jackpot hit.
Powerball tickets price $2 per play. The sport affords two separate $1 add-ons in most states — a $1 Energy Play choice and a $1 Double Play choice that options one other six numbers that don’t qualify for the jackpot, however which provide lower-tier prizes.
How Powerball Grows Jackpot
Powerball and Mega Tens of millions have run up quite a few jackpots upwards of half a billion {dollars} or extra. That’s for the reason that two video games revamped their gameplay to make the percentages of profitable the jackpot longer. With the percentages of a Powerball ticket matching all six numbers now 1 in 292 million and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Tens of millions, the video games’ jackpots extra generally roll over many instances and balloon to almost 10-digit sums.
To encourage play throughout decrease jackpot quantities, Powerball initiates a attainable 10x Energy Play. The Energy Play multiplier sometimes ranges from 2x to 5x. The multiplier is drawn concurrently in the course of the recreation’s thrice weekly draw.
The Energy Play multiplier applies solely to non-jackpot wins. For example, if a ticket matches solely the Powerball and no white balls, the ticket wins $8 on the 2x multiplier. However when the Powerball jackpot is beneath $150 million, the sport features a potential 10x multiplier that will improve that $8 prize to $40.
Powerball’s prime rival, Mega Tens of millions, doesn’t use such a 10x multiplier. As an alternative, the sport maintains its $1 add-on “Megaplier,” which is a continuing 2x to 5x.
Lottery Hysteria
Mega Tens of millions was additionally north of half of a billion {dollars} this month earlier than being hit final Friday. Two tickets — one offered in Florida and the opposite in California — cut up the $502 million jackpot.
With Mega Tens of millions again to $20 million, Powerball ought to demand the majority of this week’s lottery motion. In current months, lottery gross sales have outpaced estimates by lottery officers, that means Wednesday’s $508 million prize might be a bit extra.
For now, the $508 million jackpot comes with a lump sum money worth of $256.3 million. After a 37% federal tax, the one-time fee would come to $161.5 million.
State taxes would then be levied except the winner resides in California, Delaware, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming, as these are the one states that don’t tax lottery prizes as private revenue.
