Powerball Jackpot Surges to $975 Million as America Waits for a Billionaire
Finn's Take· TL;DR- Powerball jackpot hits $975 million after 43 consecutive drawings without a winner, approaching historic billion-dollar milestone.
- Winners take home roughly $279 million after taxes on lump sum, far less than advertised $975 million annuity option.
- Nine prize tiers mean smaller winners still emerge regularly; one Tennessee ticket won $2 million in Monday's drawing.
A Jackpot Three Months in the Making
The Powerball jackpot has risen to an estimated $975 million after nobody took the grand prize in Monday night's drawing, which soared to the eighth-largest prize in history. That means America's most-watched lottery is now knocking on the door of a billion dollars — and the anticipation is electric. The Powerball jackpot has not been won since May 2, 2026, when two tickets sold in Florida and Texas split a $20 million jackpot.
Monday's drawing was the 43rd in a row in search of a win. Forty-three chances. Forty-three misses. Each failed drawing has pushed the prize higher, turning what started as a modest pot into a near-billion-dollar spectacle that has millions of Americans reaching for their wallets. The Powerball jackpot has been growing for more than three months, reflecting the long odds of 1 in 292.2 million of winning the top prize.
Monday's Numbers and the Near-Misses
The winning numbers drawn on Monday were 6, 37, 54, 55, 64, and a red Powerball 10, with a Power Play multiplier of 3. Nobody matched all six, but that doesn't mean everyone walked away empty-handed. One ticket sold in Tennessee matched all five white balls and included the Power Play option to win $2 million. Two other tickets each won $1 million by matching the five white numbers — those tickets were sold in California and Maryland.
So while the grand prize remains unclaimed, real people did win real money on Monday. That's the thing about Powerball — even when no one wins the top prize, the game still produces millionaires. There are 9 prize tiers in Powerball, ranging from a $4 minimum prize up to the multi-hundred-million-dollar jackpot.
What Would You Actually Take Home?
Nearly a billion dollars sounds life-changing — and it is — but the headline number doesn't tell the full story. The nearly $1 billion jackpot is for a single winning ticket holder who chooses the annuity option, paid over 30 years. Winners almost always opt for the cash prize instead, which would be $422.3 million — before taxes. That's still a staggering sum, but Uncle Sam isn't done yet.
When anyone wins the lottery, the IRS withholds 24% of the winnings off the top. With a large jackpot, if the winner opts for the lump sum cash value, they would be subject to federal income tax at the top tax rate of 37% — meaning another 13% comes due at tax time. After federal income taxes, a winner's take-home on the cash option would be roughly $279.2 million. State taxes can slice it further. State taxes range from a low of 2.9% in North Dakota to 10.9% in New York — though residents of California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming won't pay any state taxes on their winnings.
How Big Could This Get?
Wednesday's drawing will be worth an estimated $975 million, which is the eighth-largest grand prize in Powerball history. The all-time record still belongs to a $2.04 billion jackpot won in California in November 2022. If tonight's drawing produces no winner, the prize will push past the billion-dollar mark for a future drawing — joining a very short list of lottery prizes that have crossed that threshold.
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. Whether tonight crowns a winner or extends the streak further, one thing is certain: at these stakes, every ticket feels like a genuine shot at a different life — even if the math says otherwise.