Powerball’s $1 Billion Winner Has Company
Though Wednesday’s Powerball prize was one of the largest ever, billion-dollar jackpots are no longer unique There have been 38 consecutive Powerball drawings without a grand prize winner. Photo: Nick Ingram/Associated Press By Anthony De Leon Updated July 20, 2023 9:55 am ET One lucky winner snagged the $1.08 billion Powerball prize Wednesday night. For the rest of us, the jackpot has been drawing some yawns. Though it is a life-changing windfall many times over, Wednesday’s prize marks the fourth to reach 10-figures since 2022. Economists say there are now signs of flagging interest given the infinitesimally small chance to become an overnight unicorn is now happening more often. There were $152 million in nationwide sales for Saturday’s $829 million jackpot—a 25% decline from t
There have been 38 consecutive Powerball drawings without a grand prize winner.
Photo: Nick Ingram/Associated Press
One lucky winner snagged the $1.08 billion Powerball prize Wednesday night. For the rest of us, the jackpot has been drawing some yawns.
Though it is a life-changing windfall many times over, Wednesday’s prize marks the fourth to reach 10-figures since 2022. Economists say there are now signs of flagging interest given the infinitesimally small chance to become an overnight unicorn is now happening more often.
There were $152 million in nationwide sales for Saturday’s $829 million jackpot—a 25% decline from the $197 million in sales for a $825 million Powerball drawing on Oct. 29, 2022, according to Lottoreport.com, which tracks sales.
“Everyone’s like, well, seen that, done that,” says Victor Matheson, an economist at the College of the Holy Cross who studies lotteries. “Or, the more I play these billion-dollar jackpots, the more I realize that I’ve just thrown $2 away every time because I never win.”
Lower sales can make the expected return on a $2 ticket slightly higher, even if it is still a losing proposition, Matheson said. For a jackpot with a $450 million cash value, the expected value of a ticket is $1.55 if the lottery sells $200 million in tickets, by his calculation. That expected value rises to $1.60 if only $150 million in tickets are sold, he said.
The Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs Powerball, didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Until Wednesday, no one had won Powerball since the April 19 drawing, when someone in Ohio snagged the $252.6 million jackpot. Since then, there had been 38 drawings without a jackpot winner.
Why Lottery Jackpots Are Increasing
There are two reasons billion-dollar jackpots have become more common.
In 2015, the Multi-State Lottery Association made the game harder to win, reducing the odds to one in 292 million from approximately one in 175 million.
The Federal Reserve’s campaign of interest-rate increases also inadvertently inflated jackpots, because the advertised prize is based on the value of the money’s investment in a portfolio of bonds over 30 years. This is why the listed $1 billion jackpot would translate to $516.8 million before taxes should the winner choose the lump sum compared with 30 years of annual payments.
Outsize prizes boost lottery ticket sales and entice those who normally don’t buy tickets to try their luck.
Photo: Mark Vancleave/Associated Press
Aside from more stakes over $1 billion, another factor has also lowered interest: The number of Powerball drawings increased from two to three times a week. The added day has contributed to a degree of fatigue, said Kent Grote, an economist at Lake Forest College, who has studied state lotteries.
That said, big jackpots in general do raise interest in lotteries among a wider range of Americans, Grote said.
“More people are participating because it’s more life-changing for people even at higher income levels,” he said.
And interest could surge again for all Americans if the stakes continue to rise. Outsize prizes boost lottery ticket sales and entice those who normally don’t buy tickets to try their luck.
There were more than $551 million in ticket sales for last year’s record $2.04 billion Powerball prize, according to Lottoreport.com. There was just one winner in California.
Those buying Powerball tickets Tuesday said $1 billion remains an enticement.
Enybrive Aharanwa, a construction worker in New York City who purchased tickets for his work lottery pool Friday, said his co-workers tend to only get interested as the jackpot increases. “When the number is big, we all do it,” he said.
7 Biggest Powerball, Mega Millions Jackpots in Lottery History
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one winner, California)
- $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three winners, California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one winner, South Carolina)
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one winner, Maine)
- $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one winner, Illinois)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one winner, Michigan)
- $1.08 billion, Powerball drawing on Wednesday (one winner, California)
Write to Anthony De Leon at [email protected]
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