New Jersey Wins 9th-Biggest Powerball Jackpot Ever
The long rolled-over Powerball jackpot has finally been won and the accolade goes to…New Jersey, in the 9th largest Powerball jackpot of all time. The jackpot now resets to $20 million.
What Happened This Time?
The Powerball drawing that took place on Wednesday evening unveiled the winning numbers 15, 34, 41, 53, and 56, with a Powerball of 21. Along with the grand prize win of $847 million, there were over a million other wins across participating regions ranging from the Match 4 + Powerball tier to just matching the Powerball. There are no confirmed winners of the second-tier prize, Match 5, so far. The Power Play multiplier, an optional add on to boost non-jackpot payouts, was 2X.
Officials are once again advising ticket holders to check tickets rigorously to prevent the loss of unclaimed prizes.
See the latest Powerball results.
How Much Was the Prize Worth?
If the winner who purchased their ticket in the Garden State decides to go for the lump sum option, the jackpot has a cash value of $363.1 Million. Alternatively, they can go for the annual payments option, which would get them 30 payments across 29 years, with the cash installments increasing gradually.
Both options described here are before taxes, which may also apply. State rules differ in terms of how federal and state taxes are handled, but in New Jersey, the lottery withholds 8% in state tax on prizes over $500,000, on top of the 24% federal withholding. The final tax bill is likely to be higher, though, since the top federal income tax rate is 37% and New Jersey’s top rate is 10.75%.
New Jersey Victories
New Jersey has won the Powerball jackpot thirteen times now, with this being the biggest Powerball prize ever paid out to a Garden State ticket buyer. That is not to suggest that the state has not won bigger jackpots — a Mega Millions player banked $1.13 billion in 2024.
The jackpot was last won back on August 12th, when it increased to $1.04 billion over 25 consecutive drawings. This marked the first jackpot cycle since United Kingdom lottery players were added to the prize pool part way through the run. Now, the second win since this change has taken place.
Chair of the Powerball, Product Group and executive director of the Kansas Lottery, Stephen Durrell, has said that "Back-to-back jackpot runs resulting in prizes of this magnitude are a testament to the excitement Powerball generates. We're thrilled to celebrate another life-changing win and congratulate the lucky ticket holder.”
The Highest Powerball Jackpots Ever?
Powerball jackpots are soaring to great heights at record speed at the moment. Whether this is because of the United Kingdom joining the fold, more players taking part in general, or the addition of the third weekly drawing in 2021, or all of the above, is not super clear. But if you missed out on this last big jackpot, it won’t be long before the prize pool reaches a massive amount once again. Watch this space.
How to Play
There have been almost 75 million prize winners in the game so far this year, and many opportunities to win. All you have to do is select five numbers from 1 to 69 and a Powerball number from 1 to 26. Drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evening at around 10:59 PM ET. Be sure to purchase your ticket ahead of this time, as ticket sales cut off before then.
Purchase Powerball tickets here.
Published: Thursday, November 5, 2026