Who hasn’t dreamed of a lottery ticket that breaks the all-time Powerball record? Who hasn’t thought about what it would be like to win the jackpot and become a multi-millionaire or even a billionaire? But just what are the records from the Powerball? And just what would you have to do in order to break them?
The current Powerball record
First, let’s take a look at the current record for the Powerball. The highest jackpot ever won on the Powerball is $1.586 billion. And that jackpot was won by a total of three different tickets, located in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Prior to that jackpot (which was won on January 13, 2016) the highest Powerball jackpot ever was $590.5 million, which had been won on May 18, 2013. That jackpot was won by a single ticket, in Florida, which means that it was actually a bigger win for the individual who had bought the ticket.
Can you break a Powerball record?
So, can you break the record and win a larger Powerball jackpot than the previous record? A lot of people have tried. In fact, since the record jackpot in 2016 there have been four large Powerball jackpots that beat the $590.5 million record.
One of those jackpots even got close to three-quarters of a billion, hitting $768.4 million before it was won by a single ticket out of Wisconsin. But that was the closest that the Powerball has gotten in the last five years. And it’s proving to be difficult for the numbers to get that high again.
What’s the biggest jackpot win ever?
The Powerball ticket sold in January of 2016 is the largest lottery jackpot that’s ever been won. It beat out the highest jackpots prior to that date by hundreds of millions of dollars and was one of the most played lottery games in history.
That’s because no one had ever seen a lottery jackpot that was over $1 billion before. And everyone wanted to have a chance at winning it. So, everyone purchased a ticket. And for three people that prize resulted in nearly a third of a billion dollars before taxes.
Since that time, there have been two other lottery jackpots that came to over a billion dollars and both of those were won by a single ticket, one out of Michigan and one out of South Carolina. Neither of those tickets was for the Powerball, however. They were actually for the Mega Millions.
Playing the lottery for yourself
For those who want a chance at a Powerball record, or any type of lottery record, you have to make sure you’re playing the game. Of course, the jackpot is going to go up whether you’re playing or not (since it will always go up until someone wins). But you never know when it is going to stop because you never know when the winning ticket might be purchased.
Also, the more people play each week (or in the case of the Powerball, twice a week) the higher the jackpot is going to get each time. That means there will be a better chance that the numbers will increase more drastically and the prize amount may get higher than before.
What to do if you win
If you win a jackpot for the Powerball or any other lottery, you’re likely not going to be worried about whether it’s the largest jackpot ever won (though that might be nice). Rather, you want to make sure that you have a plan in place, and you are ready to claim your winnings and make smart decisions.
The record for the Powerball jackpot was set only five years ago, and it’s always possible that the record will be broken. The previous Powerball jackpot record had only been in place for six months before it was beaten, but prior to that, the jackpot had stood for six years.
If you’re interested in winning, just make sure that you’re buying a ticket. Through our service, lotto fans from all over the planet can get tickets now. So don’t miss out on your big chance!