Powerball Jackpot Reaches $856 Million Ahead of Saturday Draw

The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $856 million, making it the largest lottery prize of the year after no ticket matched all six winning numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing. Despite the massive advertised jackpot, the eventual winner would receive a significantly smaller amount after taxes and other deductions.

The winning numbers drawn on Wednesday were 14, 20, 59, 60, 61, with the Red Powerball number 25. If a jackpot winner is declared in Saturday’s drawing, they will have the option of receiving the full $856 million prize through 30 annual payments or taking a one-time cash payout of $372 million, the option selected by most winners.

Anyone choosing the lump-sum payment would first see the prize reduced to approximately $282.7 million because of the mandatory 24% federal tax withholding. Depending on the winner’s total taxable income, the federal tax rate could reach 37%, lowering the final payout to about $234.4 million.

Those who select the annuity option would receive annual payments of roughly $28.5 million over three decades. After applying the highest federal marginal tax rate of 37%, each yearly payment would be reduced to around $18 million. State taxes could further reduce the winnings, depending on where the winner lives. States including New York impose lottery taxes as high as 10.9%, while states such as Texas, Florida and California do not tax lottery prizes.

Last month, the Powerball jackpot was expanded to include players in the United Kingdom, a move lottery officials say will help jackpots grow more quickly through increased ticket sales. U.K. winners are only eligible to receive the prize through 30 annual installments and cannot choose the cash option. The U.K. National Lottery currently advertises the jackpot as £444 million, or about $597.6 million, explaining that the figure reflects the estimated value of the 30-year payout after accounting for exchange rates and U.K. tax requirements.

The current Powerball prize has surpassed the previous biggest lottery jackpot of 2026, overtaking the $800 million Mega Millions jackpot won by a ticket holder in Florida last week. Earlier this year, the largest claimed Powerball jackpot was a $250.8 million prize won by a player from Arkansas.

The next Powerball drawing is scheduled for Saturday night. Players continue to face extremely long odds, with the chance of winning the jackpot standing at 1 in 292.2 million, slightly lower than the Mega Millions jackpot odds of 1 in 290.4 million.