Topline
The Powerball jackpot rose to $643 million—the biggest lottery prize of the year so far—after none of the sold tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Monday night, although the eventual winner is likely to take home a much smaller payout after accounting for taxes.
The Powerball Jackpot hit $643 million after Monday’s draw.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
The six numbers drawn on Monday night were 15, 46, 61, 63, 64, and red Powerball 1.
If a winner emerges in the next draw, they will have a choice between taking the $643 million spread over 30 annualized payments or a one-time lump sum cash payout of $290.6 million—usually the popular choice.
If the cash payout is chosen, the winnings will drop to $220.9 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.
The winner could then face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, depending on their taxable income, further slashing their winnings to $183.1 million.
If the winner picks the installment route, their annual payments of around $21.4 million would drop to $13.5 million if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.
The winner may also face additional taxes from their state of residence, as some states, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at 10.9%, while others, such as Texas, Florida, and California, don’t.
Big Number
1 in 292.2 million. Those are the astronomical odds the eventual Powerball winner will have to overcome to claim the jackpot prize. This is slightly worse than the Mega Millions jackpot, which has odds of 1-in-290.4 million. Mega Millions used to have even worse odds than the Powerball lottery, but the competition implemented significant changes earlier this year that slightly improved the odds of winning both the jackpot and smaller prizes.
What To Watch For
The next draw for the Powerball jackpot will take place on Wednesday night. The next drawing for the Mega Millions lottery is set to take place on Tuesday night, and the jackpot amount currently stands at $216 million.
Key Background
The eventual winner of the ongoing Powerball jackpot will claim the biggest lottery prize of 2025 so far, eclipsing the $526.5 million prize won by a Powerball ticket buyer from California in March. The biggest Mega Millions jackpot of 2025 so far was a $349 million prize won by an Illinois resident in March. Last year’s biggest lottery prize was also a Powerball jackpot—worth $1.326 billion—which was won by an Oregon resident.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/08/19/powerball-jackpot-nears-650-million-heres-how-much-the-winner-could-take-home/