The Powerball Jackpot has swelled to a whopping $719 million after failing to crown a winner in almost three months – making it the third biggest prize of 2025.
Winning numbers will be announced on Saturday at 11 p.m.
The winner can either choose to receive the jackpot in annual payments over 30 years — and pocket some $24 million per year before taxes — or take the cash up front.
The one-time cash payout would be an estimated $333 million before taxes.
The lump sum is less than the advertised jackpot because the advertised amount is the total annuitized payout after 30 annual payments.
A Powerball ticket with five out of six winning numbers, worth $979,462, was sold at a 7-Eleven on Los Alisos Boulevard in Mission Viejo, California, Wednesday, according to the California Lottery website. However, a winner has not yet come forward to claim the prize.
The biggest jackpot in lottery history was just over $2 billion, which was won by 31-year-old California man Edwin Castro in November 2022.
Castro went for the $998 million lump sum, and took home about $628 million after taxes, according to the California Lottery.
He was sued by another California man, Jose Rivera, who claimed he was in fact the one who bought the winning ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, and that it was stolen by his landlord.
A Los Angeles County judge tossed the suit in 2024.
If the current jackpot is taken as a lump sum up front, the winner would take home $210 million at a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, plus state taxes depending where they live.
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