Seven of the last nine Powerball runs that reached $700 million went on to top $1 billion jackpots

No ticket matched all six numbers in Monday's Powerball drawing, 18, 26, 49, 50, and 54, with a Powerball number of 1, so Wednesday's jackpot climbs to an estimated $716 million, $307.2 million in cash, the California Lottery lists. Wednesday is the 33rd drawing since an Illinois ticket won $1.04 billion on August 12. Figures are as of October 27, 2026.

Jackpots this size have tended to keep going. Since Powerball added Monday drawings in August 2021, nine runs have reached $700 million, and seven of them grew past $1 billion before a ticket hit.

The two that stopped short were won soon after crossing the line, at $754.6 million in Washington in February 2023 and $842.4 million in Michigan on New Year's Day 2024. Six of the nine stayed at $700 million or more for at least six drawings, about two weeks at three drawings a week. The longest, 12 drawings, ended with $1.817 billion in Arkansas on Christmas Eve 2025. It was rarer before the Monday drawing. Of four runs that reached $700 million from 2015 to early 2021, only the $1.586 billion split three ways in January 2016 made it to $1 billion.

This run is ahead of most if Wednesday's drawing crosses the mark. Two runs in 2023 also crossed $700 million at their 33rd drawing, and only the one that ended at $1.765 billion got there sooner, at its 28th. It hit $600 million faster than most since 2020 as well. If it is won Wednesday, $716 million would rank 14th among Powerball jackpots ever won, up from 16th in our ranking before Monday. None of this changes the odds, 1 in 292,201,338 per ticket. The Powerball analysis page updates the cash value after each drawing, and our state-by-state tax breakdown shows what a winner keeps.

Monday's drawing still made two millionaires. Tickets in Florida and Georgia matched all five white balls for $1 million each, and 17 more matched four plus the Powerball, three of them with a 3X Power Play for $150,000. Mega Millions is also rolling, at an estimated $443 million, $186.5 million cash, for Tuesday's drawing, October 27, so the two jackpots total about $1.16 billion. Its odds and cash value are on the Mega Millions analysis page.

How we did this. Jackpots are the amounts listed for each drawing in official Powerball results, as stored in our draw database, which covers every drawing since 1992. A run is the string of drawings between jackpot wins, and a run reached $700 million when a drawing's listed jackpot was at least that much. Drawings at $700 million or more include the drawing that was won. Wednesday's estimate is from the California Lottery's Powerball page on October 27, 2026, and the Mega Millions estimate is from Mega Millions.

Sources

California Lottery: Powerball

Powerball: Previous results

Powerball: Powerball to launch new Monday drawing, Double Play add-on feature

Mega Millions: Current jackpot