Powerball: Jackpot grows to $725 million

The Powerball jackpot grew to $725 million after no one matched all five numbers and the red Powerball on Wednesday.

The numbers drawn Wednesday were 16-27-59-62-63 and the Powerball was 23. The multiplier was 3X.

No winner; jackpot rises to $725 million

Update 12:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 21: The Powerball jackpot grew to an estimated $725 million after no one matched all of the numbers in Wednesday’s drawing. It was the 27th straight time without a winner since the last winner was sold on July 19, lottery officials said.

The next drawing will be on Saturday. If someone wins, they will have two options: An annuity, in which the winner receives one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year; or the lump sum option. Choosing the second option will make the cash value amount approximately $345.7 million before taxes.

The jackpot now stands eighth overall in Powerball history and could easily jump into the top six if no one wins on Saturday.

Original report: If someone does not win the big prize, it is likely that the jackpot will climb into ninth place in the all-time list, and possibly even move up to No. 8.

The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was on July 19, when a $1.08 billion ticket was sold in California. That was the third-largest Powerball jackpot in the promotion’s history, lottery officials said.

Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets, which cost $2 per play, are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.com.

Top 10 Powerball jackpots

$2.04 billion – Nov. 7, 2022 (One ticket from California).
$1.586 billion – Jan. 13, 2016 (Three tickets from California, Florida and Tennessee).
$1.08 billion – July 19, 2023, drawing (One ticket from California).
$768.4 million – March 27, 2019 (One ticket from Wisconsin).
$758.7 million – Aug. 23, 2017 (One ticket from Massachusetts).
$754.6 million – Feb. 6, 2023 (One ticket from Washington).
$731.1 million – Jan. 20, 2021 (One ticket from Maryland).
$725 million – Sept. 23, 2023 drawing.
$699.8 million – Oct. 4, 2021 (One ticket from California).
$687.8 million – Oct. 27, 2018 (Two tickets from Iowa and New York).