For the eighth time in its history, the Powerball jackpot has reached the $1 billion plateau.
Strong ticket sales since Monday’s last drawing means that Wednesday’s grand prize will be worth $1 billion, lottery officials said. Wednesday’s drawing is for the eighth-largest jackpot in the promotion’s history.
The jackpot has an estimated cash value of $433.1 million.
It is also the largest U.S. lottery jackpot offered so far this year.
“The growth of this jackpot reflects an extraordinary level of player interest,” Stephen Durrell, Powerball Product Group Chair and Kansas Lottery executive director, said in a statement. “Ticket sales for last night’s drawing exceeded expectations and increased more than 86% compared to the previous Monday drawing. We’re also continuing to see strong participation from both new players in the United Kingdom and millions of Americans who join in as the jackpot reaches the $1 billion mark.”
No one has won the Powerball jackpot since May 2, 2026, when two tickets sold in Florida and Texas split a $20 million jackpot, lottery officials said.
If a player wins the jackpot on Wednesday, they may choose to receive the prize as an annuity, paid out in 30 graduated payments over 29 years; or as a one-time lump-sum cash payment. Both prize options are before applicable federal and state taxes.
The largest jackpot in Powerball history is $2.04 billion, won by a single ticket in California on Nov. 7, 2022.
The current Powerball jackpot is the largest since a $1.817 billion prize was won in Arkansas on Dec. 24, 2025. That is still the second-largest jackpot in the promotion’s history.
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. States that do not participate are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.
Drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Powerball draw studio in Florida and streamed live on Powerball.com.
Top 10 Powerball jackpots
- $2.04 billion – Nov. 7, 2022 (One ticket from California).
- $1.817 billion – Dec. 24, 2025 (One ticket from Arkansas).
- $1.787 billion – Sept. 6, 2025 (Two tickets – one each from Missouri and Texas).
- $1.765 billion – Oct. 11, 2023 (One ticket from California).
- $1.586 billion – Jan. 13, 2016 (Three tickets: One each from California, Florida and Tennessee).
- $1.326 billion – April 6, 2024 (One ticket from Oregon)
- $1.08 billion – July 19, 2023 (One ticket from California).
- $1 billion (estimated) – Next drawing Aug. 12, 2026.
- $842.4 million – Jan. 1, 2024 (One ticket from Michigan).
- $768.4 million – March 27, 2019 (One ticket from Wisconsin).
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