Pennsylvania Powerball Player Hits $214 Million Jackpot

Some lucky lottery player in Pennsylvania woke up Tuesday morning a whole lot wealthier than they were the day before.

The Powerball jackpot, valued at $213.8 million as an annuity or $106.4 million as an all-at-once payment, hit Monday night, snapping a streak of 16 straight draws without a winner.

Lottery Geeks estimates about 8.6 million tickets were sold for the drawing, and one of them aligned perfectly with the winning numbers of 9, 22, 57, 67, 68, and red Powerball 14. The identity of the winner is unknown as of Tuesday morning. The Pennsylvania Lottery has, however, reported where the winning ticket was sold: Pittsburgh’s Quick Pizza and Hoagies, which will be paid a $100,000 bonus.

This is the sixth time this year someone has claimed the Powerball jackpot, and it’s the second smallest of those six jackpots:

• Jan. 1: $842.4 million, Michigan
• April 6: $1.326 billion, Oregon
• May 6: $214.9 million, Florida
• June 10: $226.6 million, New Jersey
• July 3: $139.3 million, Ohio
• Aug. 12: $213.8 million, Pennsylvania

The record for a Powerball jackpot win in Pennsylvania remains a $456.7 million score in March 2018 on a ticket sold in Lancaster County.

If this week’s grand prize winner chooses the annuity option, they will receive one payment immediately, followed by another one each year for 29 more years, with the payments increasing by 5% each year, adding up to $213.8 million over 30 payments. The initial payment would be about $3.22 million.

Moving on to the next draw …

With the Powerball jackpot now resetting to $20 million for Wednesday’s game, customer interest will sharply focus on Mega Millions. For Tuesday night’s drawing, the jackpot sits at an estimated $435 million in annuity form ($212.4 million lump-sum cash).

The most recent Mega Millions drawing, last Friday, saw winning numbers of 12, 32, 38, 40, 57, and gold Mega Ball 21, and it produced a pair of million-dollar Match 5 winners — one in Oregon and one in Tennessee.

Lottery Geeks estimates that some 18.1 million tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing, which featured a grand prize of $405 million.

Mega Millions is on a streak of 19 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, stretching back to a player in Illinois winning big on June 4.

Whereas the Powerball jackpot has come in six times in 2024, Mega Millions’ top prize has only been claimed twice this calendar year. Powerball is drawn three times each week and Mega Millions just twice, partially explaining the discrepancy. Mega Millions also has slightly longer jackpot odds: 1-in-302.6-million compared to 1-in-292.2-million for Powerball.

Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with the option in many states to play the Megaplier or Power Play multiplier for an extra $1.

Powerball and Mega Millions both operate in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah, and tickets for both lotteries are also sold in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, Powerball is available but Mega Millions is not.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey
10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $558.1 million, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California