Did anyone win Powerball’s $700M jackpot?

WASHINGTON — A $700 million Powerball jackpot has sent America into a lottery frenzy once again. 

The jackpot rose after Wednesday’s drawing failed to produce a grand prize winner. Saturday’s jackpot ranks as the 10th largest prize in U.S. lottery history. 

It comes on the heels of a $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize won by someone in Maine less than three weeks ago and a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by a California player last November.

The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was Nov. 19, 2022.

The winner must choose between an annuity, which is paid over 29 years, or the cash option. Most jackpot winners prefer to receive the one-time cash payout, which for Saturday’s drawing would be estimated at $375.7 million.

The winning numbers for Saturday, Feb.4 are 2-8-15-19-58 and Powerball 10.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million.

Over the past few years, huge lottery jackpots have become more common as lottery officials have changed the rules and ticket prices to boost top prizes.

Powerball’s biggest change came in 2021 when officials decided to add a Monday drawing to its weekly lineup of Wednesday and Saturday evening drawings. At the time of the announcement, Powerball proclaimed the addition of the Monday drawing would lead to “larger, faster-growing jackpots.”  

Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
• $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
• $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
• $1.35 billion Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
• $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
• $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
• $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
• $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
• $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
• $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 (one ticket, from California)