A $725 million US Powerball jackpot has no winners. What happens next?

Have you ever dreamt of winning millions in a lottery? Well, in the case of the current $725 million Powerball jackpot, the opportunity awaits a lucky individual participating in this multi-jurisdictional lottery game in the United States.

The Powerball, a renowned lottery game managed by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), is making headlines. As of Monday, July 10, no jackpot winners were declared in the latest drawing, setting the stage for a new drawing on July 12 with a staggering prize pool of $725 million.

There were no jackpot winners in last night's #Powerball drawing, which means Wednesday's jackpot is a HUGE $725,000,000!

👉https://t.co/qjO1n13m9u pic.twitter.com/lVUCFZ8G16

— Powerball USA (@PowerballUSA) July 11, 2023

While this jackpot is undeniably substantial, it ranks as the seventh largest Powerball jackpot according to Powerball records. The winning numbers for the recent drawing were 2, 24, 34, 53, 58 (white balls), and the red Powerball number was 13.

Winning highlights

• Although the grand prize of matching all six Powerball numbers remained unclaimed on July 10, two fortunate ticket holders from California and Iowa managed to match all five white balls, securing substantial winnings.

🕯🕯🕯 for me to win Powerball and retire 😭😭😭😭 what is this weather yhoo.

— Ma Khumalo 🖤💞 (@lihle__mntungwa) July 12, 2023

• The California ticket earned a $1 million prize, while the Iowa ticket increased its prize to $2 million by opting for the 'Power Play' feature for an additional dollar.

• Additionally, there were 28 tickets winning $50,000 prizes and 12 tickets winning $100,000 prizes.

Past winners and future possibilities

The previous Powerball jackpot was claimed on April 19, 2023, when a ticket from Ohio matched all five white balls and the red Powerball, winning a grand prize worth $252.6 million. Since then, 35 consecutive drawings have taken place without a jackpot winner.

In the upcoming drawing on Wednesday, if a player secures the jackpot, they will have the choice between an estimated annuitized prize of $725 million or a lump sum payment estimated at $366.2 million. Both options are subject to taxes. Opting for the annuity will provide the winner with one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.

The largest-ever Powerball prize of $2.04 billion was won in California on November 7 last year.

[READ MORE: A person from California just won the $2 billion Powerball jackpot. How much money will they take home?]

Here are the top 10 Powerball jackpots to date:

1. $2.04 Billion – Nov. 7, 2022 – California 
2. $1.586 Billion – Jan. 13, 2016 – Three winners from: California, Florida and Tennessee 
3. $768.4 Million – March 27, 2019 – Wisconsin 
4. $758.7 Million – Aug. 23, 2017 – Massachusetts
5. $754.6 Million – Feb. 6, 2023 - Washington 
6. $731.1 Million – Jan. 20, 2021 –  Maryland 
7. $725 Million (est.) – July 12, 2023 (No winners Yet)
8. $699.8 Million – Oct. 4, 2021 – California
9. $687.8 Million – Oct. 27, 2018 – Two winners from: Iowa, New York
10. $632.6 Million – Jan. 5, 2022 – Two winners from: California, Wisconsin

Understanding Powerball

Powerball is an interstate lottery system played across 45 American states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. With a ticket price of just 2-3 dollars (approximately Rs 165), players have the opportunity to win big. The game starts with a base value of $40 million, and if no winner emerges, the jackpot increases by $10 million in each subsequent draw.

How is the game played? How is the winner decided?

Powerball operates using two drums filled with balls—one for the white balls and another for the red "Power" ball. Drawings take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Winning numbers are announced through television broadcasts, the Powerball website, newspapers, and online platforms.

To claim the jackpot, players must match all five white balls along with the red Powerball number. If no one matches all six numbers, the jackpot rolls over to the next drawing and grows in value.