Powerball Jackpot Increases to $620 Million After No Winning Tickets Were Picked
If you thought $572 million was a lot, try adding nearly $100 million more. That's what happens when no Powerball Lottery winners are picked. Wednesday, December 20th was the most recent drawing for the Powerball, but no winning numbers were drawn.
The numbers drawn earlier this week were: 27, 35, 41, 56 and 60. The Powerball was 16, and the Power Play multiplier was 2x.
Although the jackpot wasn't won, three ticket holders in Kentucky, Colorado and Virginia won $2 million by matching five white balls without the red Powerball. Two ticket holders in Kentucky and Rhode Island won $1 million.
The prize has now increased to a whopping $620 million - the 19th largest winning in lottery history, and the 12th largest winning in Powerball history.
While the odds are not exactly in your favor - 1 in 292.2 million to be exact - you still have a chance to play the Powerball and try to win. Read on to find out when the next drawing is and more.
How Much Money Would You Win After Taxes?
Yes, even the lottery has taxes, and it's much more than taxes you're used to. The IRS taxes lottery winnings 24% for winnings over $5,000, but a larger amount in the millions will tax you even more.
So if you end up the lucky winner of the $620 million Powerball jackpot, you would take home just around half of that - depending on which state you live in. While they may not seem fair to the winners, taking home hundreds of millions of dollars is still a good deal.
After taxes, the Powerball Jackpot winner would come out somewhere between $330 and $390 million. Some states, such as Florida, don't require state taxes for lottery winnings, while other states taxes will vary.
The winner can then decide if they want the money in a lump sum, which seems to be the most popular, or in 30 annual installments.
How Can You Win the Powerball Jackpot?
First, you have to buy a Powerball lottery ticket. You can purchase them at nearly any gas station, convenient store, grocery store, or you can play online. Powerball tickets are $2 per ticket, and an additional $1 for "power play" or "double play".
While playing the lottery comes down to luck, there are simple strategies you can apply to help increase your chances:
Buy multiple tickets to increase your odds
Pick an equal amount of odd and even numbers
Look up the "least drawn numbers" and do not pick those
Look up "most drawn numbers" and pick those
Use "QuickPick" to choose your numbers for you
When is the Next Powerball Drawing?
The next Powerball drawing is Saturday, December 23rd at 10:59pm ET. If no winner is picked, the next drawing will be Monday, then Wednesday.