The US Powerball payout is the best in the lottery world. With a $40 million starting jackpot and a $1 million 2nd prize, a Powerball payout can make you an instant millionaire. When you play a lottery with such enormous jackpots, many of them over $100 million, you’re sure to see players winning unbelievable amounts!
The biggest jackpot prize of all time, as of this writing, was the Powerball jackpot in January 2016, when it hit the inconceivable amount of $1.6 billion. No one expected it to reach that high so soon! The prize money was divided up between three winning tickets. After the cash option was selected, each ticket entitled its owner to a cool $327.8m.
Not everyone will win a prize that huge. Even so, the only way to win a lottery jackpot is by playing the game. If you’re in Canada, you can buy your Powerball tickets online right here at powerball-canada.com!
Powerball Cash Option
When you win Powerball jackpot, which could happen any day now, you can choose to be paid in one of two different ways. The first option is the lump sum, or cash option, which is paid in two installments. An advantage of this one-time payment is that if you invest the lump sum carefully, the money could actually turn out to be worth a lot more than the initial payout. Also, there are no risks of unknown factors that could affect your payout. In other words, you are guaranteed at least the lump sum amount. A disadvantage is that poor financial management, such as careless spending, could leave you back where you started before you won the lottery. Some lottery winners have actually lost all their prize money, so be careful!
Powerball Annuity
The second payment option is the Powerball annuity which is 30 payments over 29 years. An advantage of the annuity option is that these annual payments guarantee long-term cash flow, which means it won’t be possible to go through all your winnings at once. A disadvantage is that you will lose the chance to invest the full amount and take advantage of ‘compound interest’.
Most of the biggest Powerball jackpot winners have chosen the cash option. Which option would you choose?
Record Powerball Jackpots
Date | Prize | Cash Value | Winners |
January 13, 2016 | $1.586 billion | $983.5 million | 3 |
August 23, 2017 | $758.7 million | $758.7 million | 1 |
October 27, 2018 | $687.8 million | $396.2 million | 2 |
May 18, 2013 | $590.5 million | $370.9 million | 1 |
November 28, 2012 | $587.5 million | $384.7 million | 2 |
February 11, 2015 | $564.1 million | $381.1 million | 3 |
July 30, 2016 | $487 million | $341.7 million | 1 |
August 7, 2013 | $448.4 million | $258.2 million | 3 |
May 7, 2016 | $429.6 million | $284.1 million | 1 |
February 19, 2014 | $425.3 million | $242.2 million | 1 |
September 18, 2013 | $399.4 million | $223.3 million | 1 |
Powerball Winners
Powerball jackpots are won by people, and every one of them has a story to tell. Some of the jackpot winners prefer to remain anonymous with hopes that privacy will allow them to lead the lives they choose to live. Others are obligated by regulations to come forward and reveal their identity.
The winners of the record $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot were:
** Lisa and John Robinson, of Munford, Tennessee
** Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt, of Melbourne Beach, Florida
** Marvin and Mae Acosta, of Eastvale, California
The winner of largest jackpot ever won by a single ticket holder was Mavis Wanczyk from Chicopee, Massachusetts, who won the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot in August 2017. Wanczyk had worked at a nearby hospital for 32 years but called her boss the very next day to say that she wouldn’t be in tomorrow, or ever!
The Next Powerball Winner
The next big Powerball jackpot winner just might come from Canada. That would be an interesting story to tell, especially if the winner just happens to be you. All you have to do to make this dream come true is buy tickets for the American lottery online right here at powerball-canada.com.
What are you waiting for?