Lottery fever is back in America as one of the two major jackpots is getting up to a pretty ridiculous sum.

If you've been keeping up with the Powerball, you know the jackpot right now is an estimated $1.55 billion. (A mere $679.8 million if you take the cash prize.)

This was after no winner was pulled on Saturday night's drawing. The next drawing, by the way, is tonight.

Two Multi-State Lotteries Each Offer Over $400 Jackpots
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To get to this lofty amount, there have been 34 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner since a Powerball jackpot was won on July 19, when a ticket sold in California won a $1.08 billion prize.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.

While $1.55 billion is a crazy amount of money, it's not quite the biggest in U.S. lottery jackpot history. It is up there. But exactly where does it fall?

Here are the 10 biggest U.S. lottery jackpots ever:

#1 - $2.04 Billion

The largest lottery jackpot ever was a Powerball drawing won on Nov. 7, 2022. The winning ticket was sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California (just north of Pasadena).

The winner's name was released by California lottery officials as Edwin Castro but they did not release further information about him at his request.

#2 - $1.59 Billion

The second-biggest jackpot of all time was also a Powerball drawing. It was split three ways.

Winning numbers were drawn on Jan. 13, 2016. Matching tickets were bought in Chino Hills, California, Munford, Tennesse, and Melbourne Beach, Florida.

#3 - $1.58 Billion

A Mega Millions jackpot was won on August 9, 2023. If taken as a single, after-tax cash payout, the prize would be $783.3 million.

The winner (or winners) has not yet come forward.

#4 - $1.55 Billion

This is the current Powerball jackpot after it grew from $1.432 billion because no one won on Saturday night. The next drawing will be tonight (Monday, Oct. 9).

#5 - $1.54 Billion

A single ticket sold in Simpsonville, South Carolina, won this Mega Millions jackpot on Oct. 23, 2018. The prize was not claimed until March of the following year.

The winner remained anonymous as their attorney claimed the prize for them. They opted for the one-time lump sum of $877,784,124.

#6 - $1.35 Billion

A single ticket sold in Lebanon, Maine, won this Mega Millions drawing on Jan. 13, 2023. The winner came forward a month later but chose to remain anonymous.

The person collected the prize, through a limited liability company, as a single cash payment of $723,564,144 before taxes.

#7 - $1.34 Billion

A winning Mega Millions ticket was sold on July 29, 2022, in Des Plaines, Illinois. The winner came forward after several weeks but remained anonymous.

#8 - $1.08 Billion

A single ticket sold in Los Angeles won this Powerball jackpot on July 18, 2023. It had been about three months since a winning ticket was sold.

It was also the second time in eight months that a winning ticket of more than $1 billion was sold in Los Angeles County.

#9 - $1.05 Billion

A group identified as the Wolverine FLL Club of Oakland County in Michigan won this Mega Millions jackpot on Jan. 22, 2021, after buying a ticket in Novi, Michigan.

#10 - $768.4 Million

On March 27, 2019, Manuel Franco of Wisconsin won the Powerball drawing. He promptly quit his job within two days of winning.

Wisconsin has no law protecting the identities of those who win lotteries, which meant Franco was required to come forward publicly.

5 Tips to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery

While lottery games are mostly about luck, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of winning!

Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins

 

 

 

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