Powerball Lottery Winning Numbers: A Comprehensive Guide

Recent Winning Numbers and Current Jackpot Status

The most recent Powerball drawing took place on August 16, 2025. The winning numbers were 23, 40, 49, 65, and 69. The Powerball number was 23, and it had a Power Play multiplier of 3x. The jackpot for this drawing soared to $578.8 million. It keeps a long rollover streak going that began in early June 2025.

No ticket matched all six numbers in the August 16th drawing. So, the jackpot rolls over again. On August 13, 2025, the drawing had the numbers 4-11-40-44-50 and Powerball 4. There was no jackpot winner, and the prize was $530.9 million.

How Powerball Works

Powerball is a lottery game played across 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands./strong>. The states that do not participate are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. The game is operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).

Basic Game Structure

To play Powerball, choose five numbers from 1 to 69 (white balls). Then, pick one Powerball number from 1 to 26 (red ball)./strong>. Each basic ticket costs $2./strong>. Players can choose their own numbers or use “Quick Pick” for random selection.

Drawings take place three times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. They are held at the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. Ticket sales usually close one to two hours before the drawing. This depends on where you are.

Prize Structure and Odds

Powerball has nine ways to win. You can win by matching just the Powerball number or by hitting the jackpot. The odds of hitting the jackpot are roughly 1 in 292.2 million. That’s why it’s one of the toughest lottery games to win.

The overall odds of winning any prize are approximately 1 in 24.9./strong>.

Power Play Feature

The Power Play option costs an additional $1 per play and can multiply non-jackpot winnings by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 10x. The 10x multiplier is only available when the jackpot is $150 million or less. Importantly, Power Play does not apply to the jackpot prize./strong>.

If you choose Power Play, the second-tier prize of $1 million is always doubled to $2 million. This happens no matter what multiplier is drawn. For other prize levels, the multiplication depends on the randomly picked Power Play number.

Double Play Feature

Double Play is a feature in 24 jurisdictions. It gives players another chance to win with the same numbers. For an extra $1, players enter a separate drawing with a fixed $10 million top prize./strong>.

The Double Play drawing occurs immediately after the main Powerball drawing. Six of the nine Double Play prize levels pay more than the equivalent Powerball prizes./strong>. For example, matching only the Powerball number wins $7 in Double Play compared to $4 in the main game.

Historical Context and Largest Jackpots

Powerball has produced some of the largest lottery jackpots in history./strong>. The record-breaking $2.04 billion jackpot was won on November 7, 2022, by Edwin Castro of California./strong>. This remains the largest lottery prize ever awarded to a single winner.

Other notable jackpots include:

• $$1.765 billion (October 2023, California)
• $$1.586 billion (January 2016, split among three winners)
• $$1.537 billion Mega Millions (October 2018)
• $$1.350 billion Mega Millions (January 2023)

Tax Implications

Lottery winnings face significant tax consequences that winners must carefully consider. The federal government holds back 24% of your winnings. However, this is only the start of your tax burden.

Federal Taxes

Powerball winnings are taxed as ordinary income. When jackpots are large, winners often fall into the top federal tax bracket of 37%./strong>. Winners must pay an extra 13% in federal taxes, on top of the 24% withheld.

State Taxes

State tax treatment varies significantly:

Thirteen states do not tax lottery winnings. Among them are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, and Texas, plus a few others.

New York has the highest state withholding rate at 10.9%

Some localities, like New York City, impose additional taxes of up to 3.876%

Example Tax Calculation

For a hypothetical $960 million jackpot winner choosing the lump sum:

Initial federal withholding: $230.4 million (24%)

Additional federal taxes owed: approximately $124.8 million (13%)

Total federal tax burden: approximately 37% or $355.2 million

Claim Periods and Procedures

Prize claim periods can change a lot by state, often lasting from 90 days to one year. Some specific examples include:

• Georgia and North Carolina: 180 days for jackpots
• California: one full year
• Florida: 180 days after draw date

Failure to claim within the specified timeframe results in forfeiture of the prize./strong>. In Ohio, a key case unfolded when a winner lost out on a $138 million Powerball jackpot. They didn’t meet the 180-day deadline to claim it.

Where to Purchase Tickets

You can buy Powerball tickets at many places. Look for them at gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, and some airport terminals./strong>. Additionally, several states offer online ticket purchasing through official lottery websites:

• Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.

The Jackpocket app is approved in 16 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. It acts as a third-party lottery courier service.

Drawing Frequency and Statistics

Data from 2025 reveals that some numbers are drawn more often than others. The most frequently drawn main numbers include 61 (112 times), 21 (112 times), and 23 (110 times)./strong>. For Powerball numbers, number 4 has been drawn 60 times, making it the most frequent./strong>.

Lottery experts say that every number combination has the same chance in each drawing. The selections are completely random. The idea of “hot” and “cold” numbers is mostly in our heads. Each drawing happens on its own.

Strategic Considerations

While the odds of winning are tough, players can think about:

Avoiding common number patterns, like birthdays, can help lower the chances of sharing a jackpot. Stick to numbers outside the 1-31 range for better odds.

Choosing rare number combinations may lead to a bigger payout if you win.

Understanding that Quick Pick and self-selected numbers have identical odds

The expected value of a Powerball ticket is negative. This means players should see it as fun, not a way to make money. Even with the largest jackpots, the mathematical expectation favors the house significantly.

Current Trends and Future Drawings

The 2025 Powerball drawings have seen high jackpots. The current jackpot has rolled over many times since early June./strong>. This longer rollover period has led to one of the biggest prize pools in years. It has sparked a lot of public interest and boosted ticket sales.

The next drawing is set for Monday, August 18, 2025. This will keep the three-times-a-week schedule that began in 2021. As jackpots get bigger, they attract more media attention and ticket sales. This leads to even faster jackpot growth because more people join in.

Powerball winning numbers are about math and the big changes they can bring. The odds can be tough, but the game has a solid structure. It offers multiple prize tiers and features like Power Play and Double Play. These give players exciting chances to win.