Lotto Powerball: Odds of Winning, Jackpot Winners, and more
The Powerball lottery has been drawing significant attention ever since 1992. That was the year when the first Lotto Powerball jackpot worth a starting value of $2 million US-Dollars was initiated. If you look at the Powerball winnings nowadays, this seems like a far-away time. A starting jackpot of $2 million cannot compete with the modern Powerball sizes, making it the largest lottery jackpot on a global scale. In January 2016, 19 consecutive rollovers resulted in a US $1,586 billion jackpot! Consequently, millions of Americans chip in with their lucky numbers to win the next jackpot.
But not only Americans are keen on the winning ticket. Canadians from British Colombia to Quebec stormed across the borders when the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot prize was on. They could have saved themselves the fuss by ordering Powerball tickets online. So, if you want to play Powerball, you can do that conveniently from within Canadian territory. Let us now show you how to do that and also tell you more about overall odds, winning numbers, the procedure of Powerball drawings, etc.
How to play Lotto Powerball
The Powerball lottery is conducted by the Multi-State Lottery Association, which consisted of 15 participating lotteries back in 1992. Over the years, this number of US lotteries has naturally grown and reached the level of 48 lotteries currently. The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit association comprised of the included state lotteries from the US Virgin Islands, Rhode Island, West Virginia, South Dakota, Puerto Rico, the Florida lottery, etc. Approximately 50% of ticket sales go into the prize funds, while 35% contribute to benevolent causes. The remaining 15% make up for organization costs.
Until August 2021, a particular Powerball drawing took place every Wednesday and Saturday. Since then also Mondays freed up capacity for jackpots. Lottery players can purchase tickets at the expense of $2 per play. They choose 5 lottery numbers from 1 to 69 and 1 Powerball number from 1 to 26. The option for numbers randomly selected by the lottery terminal also exists. There are multiple options for upgrading the ticket, such as:
- Power Play option: Adds costs of $1 per play. Non-jackpot winnings can be multiplied by the increments 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times. The multiplier number is set at random. Furthermore, the x10 multiplier is solely active in cases where the jackpot annuity is less than $150 million.
- Double Play: 13 jurisdictions offer the repetition of a particular drawing right after the original Powerball drawing. You can purchase it for $1 per play.
- Multi-Draw: You can pre-select the number of consecutive drawings you want to participate in.
How to win Powerball
All in all, there are 9 ways to win at a Powerball lottery draw. They are exhibited here:
The white balls on your ticket represent the numerical order of chosen numbers. They do not need to align from left to right or right to left but can be matched in any given order. The red Powerball on the ticket needs to match the drawn number precisely. The range of prizes goes from $4 for a red Powerball match up to the advertised jackpot amount of the specific draw for five numbers + red ball matched. You can multiply non-jackpot prizes by including Power Play which will raise the bar to a minimum of $40 and a maximum of $2 million whenever you activate x10. If the Powerball jackpot is below $150 million, you can win up to $20 million.
Odds of Winning the Top Prize and other Prizes
Odds of claiming prizes remain the same throughout every single draw. In other words, this means that you don’t have to wait for the next drawing just because it’s a Monday. The overall odds of winning any prize at the Powerball lottery is 1 in 24,87. This stays that way, no matter if the jackpot is valued at $50 million or $500 million. The rest of the odds for winning cash amounts are:
- 1 in 38,32 for a red ball match
- 1 in 91,98 for 1 white ball + red ball
- 1 in 701,33 for 2 white balls + red ball
- 1 in 579,76 for three white balls
- 1 in 14,494.11 for 3 whites + red ball
- 1 in 36,525.17 for 4 whites
- 1 in 913,129.18 for 4 whites + red ball
- 1 in 11,688,053.52 for five white balls
- 1 in 292,201,338.00 for five whites and the red Powerball
Where to get Powerball Tickets
With all tickets sold, the Powerball jackpot increases more and more until it is won. Contrary to common belief, tickets for the draws on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday do not to be purchased from a local retailer. The option to buy tickets via the internet is possible as long as the jurisdiction includes you as its resident. It is indeed prohibited to purchase tickets across jurisdictional borders nevertheless. That does not implicate at the same time that you are not allowed to buy tickets within a jurisdiction directly or indirectly. The Powerball lottery is not specified to US citizens.
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To get your hands on the top prize, you can furthermore rely on online lottery services in Canada. This includes an option where a paid courier receives the ticket in your name from the particular jurisdiction. A relatively small fee applies in those cases. The size of the Powerball jackpot is not set in stone like it used to be in the past. Still, it is moreover determined by other vital factors such as game sales (influenced by seasonality, huge Mega Millions jackpots, etc.) and interest rates on securing Powerball prizes.
Watch the Drawing of Lotto Powerball Results
As soon as the deadlines are over, you will follow the live broadcasts. These are, first of all, staged from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. The time is 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The official website of Powerball.com is also streaming the events live on site. If you want to follow the draw in Canada, you need to stick to the particular time zones, which are:
Past Powerball Numbers
Right now, we are looking at a Powerball jackpot of $172 million. It is up for drawing on Sunday, February 13th, 2022. If we date back to the last draw before this upcoming one, where the advertised jackpot was worth $158 million, we will see that the winning numbers were 2 17 33 51 63 + 26. No one won the jackpot, while one lucky winner managed to hit the 5 matching whites at least. Let’s put more attention to the winnings numbers causing jackpot winners, though:
- A married couple from Brown County shared a $636,6 million jackpot with a ticket from California. The Powerball number was 17, whereas the rest was 6 14 25 33 46.
- On January 2021, a winning ticket purchased in Maryland won an anonymous group called “The Power Pack” the largest Maryland Lottery prize ever: $731,1 million. Winning numbers were 40, 53, 60, 68, 69, plus Powerball 22, and x3 Power Play.
- On March 27th, 2019, Manuel Franco claimed the largest Wisconsin lottery jackpot, who took home an astounding $768,4 million. His quick pick winning numbers were 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and the Powerball 12, which he got from New Berlin.
- Mavis Wanczyk was the lucky woman purchasing the sole winner ticket with the winning numbers 06, 07, 16, 23, 26, and Powerball 04. She chose the cash option and received a lump-sum payment of $480,500,936, while the overall jackpot was worth a staggering $758,7 million.
Estimated Jackpot: Nearly $1.6 billion!
The January 13th Powerball resulted in not just one but three big winners. Had it been only one, the lucky one/s would have been approximately $1.6 billion (mind you that this goes before a possible cash option and federal taxes). 39-year-old Marvin and 40-year-old Mae Acosta were one part of the divided sum. Residing in Chino Hill, they managed to win $528.8 million. That made them the largest California lottery history rightful owners of millions in cash. They opted for the cash option and took away $327,8 million. The other two winning tickets came from Florida and Tennessee.
It took them almost six months until they came forth and claimed their jackpot win. The couple did their best to stay out of the media spotlight and refused further interview requests. According to media outlets, they put a significant portion of the jackpot into charities. Besides that, the media also reported that the couple bought a $475,000 home near the 7-Eleven in San Bernardino County. Here they got their ticket from in the first place.
How to claim your Prizes
You can redeem lottery winnings up to $600 at pretty much any licensed retailer in the corresponding jurisdiction where the prize was won. Prizes surpassing the limit of $600 will see you visit lottery offices and maybe even the lottery headquarters of a state. There is no typical expiration date for claiming your prize, but it can generally vary from 90 days up to 1 year. You can quickly check the date on your lottery ticket.
There are two ways of claiming the Powerball lottery Grand Prize:
- Cash option/Lump-sum: This is the amount of required money to fund the estimated jackpot prize on the drawing day. The jackpot annuity and the cash values are estimated parameters.
- Annuity option: A winner can also choose to go for annual payments over the course of 29 years overall. This annuity payment option comes with 30 graduated payments, which increase by 5% yearly until the 30th and final payment arrives. In the none-desirable case that the winner dies, all the remaining payments would go to the winner’s estate and heirs.
The topic of Taxes: Not applied in Canada
As the Powerball jackpot grows, it’s always good to think about possible taxes on winnings. You have surely realized that if you take the cash option, you will have less than jackpots promise. This is due to the long-term interest you collect when you decide to head for the annuity option. The money you wait for is invested for you. The lump-sum will result in the Internal Revenue Service expecting around 37% in taxes from your end. As a US resident, you fall into the highest tax category. Annuities are dealt with differently and will not position you within the highest tax bracket.
But what if you play from Canada now? Here the situation is completely reversed. The Canada Revenue Agency does not apply taxes to lottery prizes in Canadian territory. So, you will go away with way more money than a US-territory pendant. All the more reason to play the Powerball lottery from Canada, right?
The Conclusion: The Next Drawing is Ahead
We have cleared up the misunderstanding that you are not able to partake in Powerball from Canada. Although the lottery is conducted on US territory, this does not keep you from using online services such as Lottomart. While it requires your personal presence per usual, you can trust those websites, and they will take over this part of the effort for you. Regular prizes crossing incredible million Dollar thresholds should be enough of a motivation for you. The odds for winning any prize are pretty solid, with 1 in 24,87 and a $2 price per play is not detrimental.
If you get the proper winning numbers, even the non-jackpot prizes can make you a millionaire overnight. This is not at all illusionary. The additional Power Play option and/or Double Play make the whole thing even more exciting at low extra costs. The ultra-advantage is that lottery winnings are not taxable in Canada. The US equivalent of up to 37% taxes is way less attractive. Got some time to pierce your fingers into your sofa at 10:59 p.m. ET? Well, then we would say that you should play Powerball and take your shot at the next jackpot!
Lotto Powerball FAQ
How many numbers do you need to win anything in Powerball?
You need at least 1 Powerball in red or three white-ball matches to win any prize in a draw.
How do you pick Powerball numbers?
You choose your winning numbers between 1 and 69 for the five white balls and between 1 and 26 for the red ball. All by yourself. Alternatively, you can let the lottery terminal randomly shuffle the numbers for you.
Are 4 numbers in Powerball a Prize?
Yes. In general, you will obtain $100 for 4 matching whites. If you activate Power Play, you maximize this amount up to $1,000.
Do I win anything if I get one Number on Powerball?
If you hit the red Powerball, one white ball will not grant you any prize.
What is Double Play Powerball?
For an additional $1 per play, players can repeat their numbers in another draw right after the main one. Double Play is available in 13 jurisdictions throughout the USA.
What happens if you get all 5 numbers but not the Powerball?
That would lead to the second-best prize of $1 million (up to $2 million for Power Play). $20 million via Power Play is applicable only if the jackpot value is below $150 million.
Do I need to pay taxes for a Powerball jackpot in Canada?
No. Every windfall connected to lotteries, such as Powerball, does not require tax payment from your side.
How does the Powerball payout work?
You can cash out a jackpot-winning ticket in yearly installments/annuities, or you take the lump sum. If you choose annuities, the money will be paid out to you over the course of 29 years. On a general level, prizes pay out on a fixed basis for non-jackpot prizes and pari-mutuel for the jackpots. California is an exception here since they reward every type of prize from a pari-mutuel (a certain percentage of the overall prize pool flows into the categories and is then split among winners) point of view.
