(NEXSTAR) – The Powerball jackpot hasn’t been hit since August, leaving room for the prize to hit $1.2 billion ahead of Wednesday’s draw.
If a ticket matches the winning numbers, as shown below, the winner will have landed the second-biggest jackpot in Powerball history and the fourth-biggest lottery prize in US history.
Here are the winning numbers from Wednesday’s draw: 2, 11, 22, 35 and 60, and Powerball number 23.
This is the second lottery prize to top $1 billion this year.
In July, the Mega Millions jackpot reached a historical $1.34 billion. It was the nation third largest lottery and unclaimed until September when two winners from Illinois showed up to pick it up.
If no ticket matches the six numbers above, the Powerball jackpot will approach – and potentially exceed – the record $1.586 billion won by three Powerball players in 2016, which is also the biggest lottery prize the country has ever won. has ever seen.
Here are the 10 biggest Powerball jackpots to date:
- $1.586 billion: January 13, 2016 (CA, FL, TN)
- $1.2 billion (estimated): November 2, 2022
- $768.4 million: March 27, 2019 (WI)
- $758.7 million: August 23, 2017 (MA)
- $731.1 million: January 20, 2021 (MD)
- $699.8 million: October 4, 2021 (CA)
- $687.8M: Oct 27, 2018 (IA, NY)
- $632.6 million: Jan. 5, 2022 (California, Wisconsin)
- $590.5 million: May 18, 2013 (FL)
- $587.5 million: Nov. July 28, 2012 (AZ, MO)
As it stands, $1.2 billion is the fourth-largest lottery prize in US history, behind two Mega Millions jackpots.
If you are lucky enough to win the jackpot, you can receive your kitty in the form of an annuity (30 payments spread over 29 years) or in the form of capital. According to Powerball, the jackpot has a cash value of $596.7 million.
You may want think twice before withdrawing the cash option yet. Winners of giant jackpots almost always take the money, and financial advisers say that could be a mistake.
Nicholas Bunio, a certified financial planner from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, said that even with his expertise, he would take an annuity because it would significantly reduce his risk of making poor investment decisions.
“It allows you to make a mistake here and there,” Bunio said. “People don’t understand that there is potential for loss. They only focus on earning potential.
The spread between cash options and annuities has widened because inflation has driven interest rates higher, which in turn translates into potentially larger investment gains. With annuities, jackpot money is essentially invested and then paid out to winners over three decades.
Under the annuity plan, winners will receive an immediate payment, then 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year until finally reaching the total of $1.2 billion.
Officials are urging anyone lucky enough to win a Powerball jackpot to consult a financial adviser – while keeping that precious ticket safe – before showing up at a lottery office for an oversized check.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.