Powerball

Powerball is played across 48 US states and jurisdictions every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Find out everything you need to know about how to play this record-breaking lottery. Get information on the latest Powerball numbers and prizes, as well as details on the history of the game and previous jackpot winners.

Playing Powerball

This is how you can play Powerball:

• 1. Choose five main numbers between 1 and 69.
• 2. Select a Powerball number between 1 and 26.
• 3. Choose whether to add Power Play, offering the chance to multiply non-jackpot prizes.
• 4. Choose whether to add Double Play (select lotteries only) for a second chance to match your numbers in a separate draw with prizes up to $10 million.
• 5. Purchase your tickets by the cut-off time in your state or online. This ranges from 6:45pm PST in Washington to 10pm EST in New York and Florida. Players in Puerto Rico can play until 10:59pm when the clocks switch forward an hour over winter.

Once you have played your Powerball tickets, simply wait for the drawing, which takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights in Tallahassee, Florida at 10:59pm EST, and check the Winning Numbers page soon afterwards to find out if you are due a prize.

What is Power Play?

Power Play is an option you can add to your ticket that multiplies the value of the non-jackpot prizes you win. Visit the page for more information.

What is Double Play?

Double Play is an option you can add to your ticket in select jurisdictions. It costs an extra $1 and offers a second chance to win on your numbers in a separate draw with cash prizes of up to $10 million.

There are 20 lotteries that offer the Double Play option, and more may choose to do so in the future: Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington.

Head over to the Double Play page for more details.

Prizes

Powerball players can win prizes in nine different tiers, from matching just the Powerball right up to the jackpot for matching all five numbers plus the Powerball.

Aside from the jackpot, which starts at $20 million and keeps getting bigger until it is won, the prize tiers in Powerball have fixed cash amounts. Here's a breakdown of the prize tiers and the odds for winning in that tier:

Bonus Match 5 Prizes and Odds of Winning

Prize Tier	Odds of Winning	Prize
Match 5 + Powerball	1 in 292,201,338	Jackpot
Match 5	1 in 11,688,053	$1 million
Match 4 + Powerball	1 in 913,129	$50,000
Match 4	1 in 36,525	$100
Match 3 + Powerball	1 in 14,494	$100
Match 3	1 in 579	$7
Match 2 + Powerball	1 in 701	$7
Match 1 + Powerball	1 in 91	$4
Powerball only	1 in 38	$4

Biggest Winners

Powerball creates hundreds of thousands of winners in each draw, as players from across the U.S go in search of life-changing jackpots. The top prize starts at a minimum of $20 million and regularly grows into nine figures, sometimes even ten! The game has been responsible for many of the biggest winners in lottery history.

Amount	Cash or Annuity?	Date	Winner Details
$2.04 billion	Took the cash option of $997.6 million	November 7 2022	After 40 straight drawings without a winner, the jackpot pushed past $2 billion for the first time in history. A single ticket ended up matching all the numbers in the historic drawing, landing the lucky player a jackpot of $2.04 billion. Edwin Castro from California claimed the money more than three months later, having purchased his ticket at a gas station in Altadena. He described himself as ‘shocked and ecstatic’, and decided to take the lump sum payout.
$1.76 billion	TBA	October 11 2023	Another big win goes to California as the second-largest jackpot in the history of the game was won on October 11, 2023 after having rolled over 35 times. Lottery officials have confirmed the winning ticket was purchased at the Midway Market and Liquor in Frazier Park in Kern County. No further information has been released about the winner or winners, but we will update this page once more details are available. The lucky winner or winners will have one year to claim their grand prize and their name will be revealed as California Lottery does not allow winners to stay anonymous.
$1.58 billion	Shared the cash option of $983.5 million	January 13 2016	The third-largest lottery jackpot of all time was shared by three ticket holders. John and Lisa Robinson from Munford in Tennessee quickly came forward, telling the world about their win on the Today show. David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith from Melbourne Beach in Florida soon claimed their share of the money, but it was another six months until Marvin and Mae Acosta from Chino Hills in California made themselves known to lottery officials.
$1.08 billion	TBA	July 19, 2023	The fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history was won on July 19, 2023. The Grand Prize rolled over for 38 draws to pass the $1 billion mark for the third time and was eventually won by a ticket sold in downtown Los Angeles, CA. No details have yet been released about the winner. This page will be updated when any further information is available.
$842.4 million	TBA	January 1 2024	As 2023 came to an end, the jackpot looked poised to hit 10 figures for the third time in six months. However, a single ticket, sold in Grand Blanc, Michigan, matched all the numbers to land a prize worth $842.4 million. When the winner comes forward, they could decide to take the annuity or a lump sum of $425.2 million.
$768.4 million	Took the cash option of $477 million	March 27 2019	Manuel Franco from Milwaukee claimed a gigantic $768.4 million when he matched all the numbers to end a three-month wait for a jackpot winner. It was a new record for the largest prize ever won on a single ticket and the 24-year-old said that he had just felt a ‘really lucky, weird feeling’ when he bought his ticket. He gave up work straight away and announced that he wanted to ‘help out the world’.
$758.7 million	Took the cash option of $480.5 million	August 23 2017	A player from Massachusetts banked an incredible $758.7 million in August 2017, the biggest jackpot ever won on a single ticket at the time. Mavis Wanczyk came forward the next day to claim the prize, revealing that she had already quit her job in a hospital and would celebrate by going to ‘hide in bed’.
$2.04 billion	Took the cash option of $997.6 million	November 7 2022	A player from Massachusetts banked an incredible $758.7 million in August 2017, the biggest jackpot ever won on a single ticket at the time. Mavis Wanczyk came forward the next day to claim the prize, revealing that she had already quit her job in a hospital and would celebrate by going to ‘hide in bed’.
$754 million	Took the cash option of $407.2 million	February 6 2023	After 33 draws without a winner, a Powerball player from Washington hit the jackpot in this draw to grab one of the biggest prizes in the lottery’s history. The winner was revealed to be Becky Bell from Auburn. She planned to bring forward her retirement from her job with Boeing, but she did not want to let the company down so she would train others to replace her first.
$731 million	Took the cash option of $546.8 million	January 20 2021	This huge jackpot went to anonymous winners in Maryland who called themselves ‘The Power Pack’. They purchased one Quick Pick ticket at Coney Market in the former mining town of Lonaconing. When they came forward four months later, they said they wanted to help their families and local communities for generations to come.
$699 million	Took the cash option of $495.9 million	October 4 2021	The first-ever Monday winner was Scott Godfrey from Morro Bay in California, who matched all the numbers after the jackpot had rolled for 40 drawings in a row. It was the largest Powerball payout in the Golden State and Godfrey admitted he had to ‘do a double take, no more than a double take – a triple take’, after he found out he had won with one of the 10 Quick Picks he had bought at an Albertsons store on Quintana Road.