The Powerball jackpot for Saturday night has soared to a whopping $1.8 billion after no one won the big prize Wednesday.
The Powerball prize is the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot, behind the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won on Nov. 7, 2022 in California.
No one has won the grand prize since May 31, and the 42nd drawing on Saturday will set the record for the most consecutive drawings without a big winner.
A man checks his Powerball lottery ticket in Foster City, California, United States on August 28, 2025. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun /Anadolu via Getty Images)
The $1.8 billion is for a winner who opts to receive 30 payments over 29 years through an annuity. Jackpot winners almost always choose the game’s cash option, which for this drawing would be an estimated $826.4 million, before taxes.
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How Powerball works
The backstory:
Powerball tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Powerball drawings are also live streamed on Powerball.com.
Powerball jackpot payouts by state
Local perspective:
If you hit it big and win the jackpot, the amount of money you get will depend on where you live. According to the USA Mega website, lottery winnings aren’t subject to state taxes in eight states: California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
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Meanwhile, other states like New Jersey and Oregon tax lottery winnings at 10.75% and 9.9%, respectively.
Powerball is not played in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
Here’s a breakdown of what you would get paid in each state if you won the $1.8-billion Powerball jackpot.
Biggest lotto jackpots
The Source: This report includes information from Powerball, USA Mega and previous LiveNow from FOX reporting.