Powerball FAQs

You only need to match the Powerball to win the lowest prize, $4. Without the Powerball, you need at least 3 white balls ($7). To win the jackpot, you need all five white balls and the Powerball. Every prize tier is in Powerball prizes.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 PM ET, at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. That's 9:59 PM Central, 8:59 PM Mountain and 7:59 PM Pacific. Ticket sales usually close one to two hours before, depending on the state. More in Powerball drawing time and place.

At authorized lottery retailers in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and online on the official sites of some state lotteries, as long as you're in that state. Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah don't sell Powerball. The full list is in where to play Powerball.

Yes. You don't need to be a U.S. citizen or resident to play or to win. You claim the prize in the state where you bought the ticket, and non-resident winners usually have 30% federal tax withheld.

Between 90 days and one year after the drawing, depending on the state that sold the ticket. For the jackpot, some states give you less time to choose the cash option. Step by step in how to claim a Powerball prize.

Yes. Lottery winnings are taxable income. On prizes over $5,000, 24% is withheld for federal taxes, and a big prize can be taxed at up to 37% in the end. Most states tax winnings too; California, Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming don't.

It depends on the state. Some let jackpot winners stay anonymous or claim through a trust; others require the winner's name to be made public. Check your state lottery's rules before you claim.

$2 per play. Power Play costs $1 more per play and, in the states that offer it, so does Double Play. In Idaho, Montana and Puerto Rico a play costs $3, because Power Play is always included.

1 in 292,201,338 for the jackpot, and 1 in 24.87 for any prize. The odds are the same for every combination, whether you pick your numbers or use Quick Pick. All the figures are in Powerball odds.

An optional multiplier that costs $1 per play. It multiplies any prize except the jackpot by 2X, 3X, 4X or 5X, or 10X when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less. Match 5 with Power Play pays $2 million. More in Power Play and Double Play.

It rolls over to the next drawing and keeps growing. The jackpot starts at $20 million and has no cap; the record is $2.04 billion, won in California in November 2022. How it works is in the Powerball jackpot.

It's a personal decision, best made with a tax and financial advisor. The annuity pays the full advertised jackpot in 30 payments over 29 years, each 5% bigger than the last. The cash option is a single, smaller payment, the money actually in the prize pool, and it's what most winners choose.

We publish the winning numbers and the Power Play multiplier from official sources shortly after each drawing, and add the prize breakdown when it's released. To claim a prize, though, what counts is your ticket and your state lottery: always confirm a win with them.

Use our ticket checker: choose a drawing or a date range, enter the numbers on each line of your ticket and it shows your matches line by line. You can also look up any past drawing, with its prize breakdown, in results.

No. The Predictor is a number generator that builds lines from up to 200 recent drawings (hot numbers, cold numbers or a straight Quick Pick). It doesn't predict the drawing: every combination has the same odds, including the ones it suggests.

Yes. In results you'll find past drawings, each with its winning numbers and prizes, and in the ticket checker you can pick a date or a date range to check several drawings at once. Don't wait too long: prizes expire after 90 days to one year, depending on the state.