Topline

The Powerball jackpot is nearing $800 million after no winning tickets were sold in Monday night’s drawing, reaching close to another historic mark that will be shaved down once taxes and deductions are applied to the eventual winner’s earnings.

Key Facts

The winning numbers drawn on Monday night were 8, 30, 41, 48, 54 and red Powerball number 4.

If the looming draw has a winner, they can choose between $786 million split across 30 annual installments or a one-time cash prize of $341.6 million.

The cash prize (the much more popular option) will drop down to $259.6 million after a 24% federal withholding is applied.

The winner is likely to face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, which would further reduce winnings to about $215 million.

The installment option would reduce the winner’s annual payouts of $26.2 million to about $16.5 million after federal taxes are applied.

Additional taxes could be introduced depending on where the winner lives, with states like New York taxing lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others like California, Florida and Texas do not tax winnings.

Big Number

$2 billion. That is the largest Powerball jackpot ever won. Edwin Castro of California successfully picked the winning numbers in November 2022.

Key Background

The jackpot as of Tuesday morning is the ninth-largest in Powerball history and is the second biggest lottery prize of the year. The top lottery prize so far, an $800 million Mega Millions jackpot, was won last week in Florida. In comparison, the largest Powerball jackpot won this year was a $250.8 million prize won by a lottery player from Arkansas.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The next drawing takes place Wednesday night at 10:59 p.m. EDT.