$747 million Powerball jackpot now 9th-largest in US history as drawing nears

DES MOINES, Iowa (NEXSTAR) — A $747 million Powerball jackpot will be up for grabs Monday night for players willing to risk $2 against the long, long odds of winning the big prize.

No one has won the jackpot since Nov. 19, 2022, causing the prize to grow larger with each of the game’s three weekly drawings. It now stands as the ninth-largest in U.S. history.

The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players. That strategy certainly has worked recently, as someone won a $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize in January and a California player hit a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot last November. No one has claimed either of those prizes.

The $747 million jackpot is for winners who opt for an annuity, paid over 29 years. Higher interest rates have allowed those annuity payments to increase compared with earlier jackpots, when rates were lower.

Most winners prefer cash, which for Monday night’s drawing would be $403.1 million.

Here are the 10 largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history:

$2.04 billion (Powerball): Nov. 7, 2022; California

$1.586 billion (Powerball): Jan. 13, 2016; California, Florida, Tennessee

$1.537 billion (Mega Millions): Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina

$1.337 billion (Mega Millions): July 29, 2022; Illinois

$1.35 billion (Mega Millions: Jan. 13, 2023; Maine

$1.05 billion (Mega Millions): Jan. 22, 2021; Michigan

$768.4 million (Powerball): Mar. 27, 2019; Wisconsin

$758.7 million (Powerball): Aug. 23, 2012; Massachusetts

$747 million No winner yet

$731.1 million (Powerball): Jan. 20, 2021; Maryland

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.