Powerball Jackpot Hits $1B: When To Buy Tickets In NJ For Next Drawing

The jackpot in Saturday’s Powerball drawing has reached the $1 billion threshold, fueling ticket sales and dreams of a big holiday payoff in New Jersey and other states where the game is played

The jackpot, which currently has a cash value of $461.3 million, could soar even higher before Saturday night’s drawing.

Although there were no jackpot winners in Wednesday’s drawing, tickets worth $1 million were sold in Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey.

The numbers drawn on Wednesday were white balls 10, 16, 29, 33, and 69, and red Powerball 22. The Power Play multiplier was 3X.

What would you do with the Powerball? Would you give to a New Jersey charity, establish your own, move off the grid, or do something else? Join the conversation below and share your dreams in the comments.

But first, you need a ticket for any of that to have a chance of coming true.

Powerball tickets, which cost $2, are available in New Jersey at gas stations, convenience stores, and grocery stores. The deadline to buy tickets for Saturday’s drawing is before 9:59 p.m. the same day.

Players in 12 states and the District of Columbia can purchase tickets from their official state lottery websites.

They are Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky (through the app), Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The chances of winning the jackpot are terrible, about 1 in 292.2 million. But the odds do eventually work out for some lucky players.

The last time a New Jersey player won the Powerball jackpot was on June 10, 2024, when a $222.6 million ticket was claimed.

New Jersey has had 12 jackpot winners since 2003. Together, they claimed jackpots totalling $2,322,300,000.

Since 2003, the jackpot has been unclaimed three times:

• A ticket worth $77.1 million for the June 29, 2011, drawing was sold in Georgia;
• A ticket worth $50 million for the May 25, 2013, drawing was sold in Florida; and
• A ticket worth $139.3 million for the July 3, 2024, drawing was sold in Ohio.

Saturday’s drawing will be the 42nd in the current jackpot run, tying the game record for most consecutive drawings in a single jackpot cycle. The Powerball jackpot was last won on Sept. 6 by two ticket-holders in Missouri and Texas who split a $1.787 billion prize.

Both the annuitized jackpot and lump sum payment are subject to taxes. If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.

Powerball is played in all but five states — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah — and also in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than half of all proceeds from the sale of a Powerball ticket remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.

Powerball said that since its first drawing in 1992, the game has helped generate more than $37 billion for good causes supported by U.S. lotteries.

Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee, Florida. Powerball drawings are also live-streamed on Powerball.com.

The top 10 jackpots in the history of the game are:

1. $2.04 Billion (Nov. 7, 2022 – California)
2. $1.787 Billion (Sept. 6, 2025 – Missouri and Texas)
3. $1.765 Billion (Oct. 11, 2023 - California)
4. $1.586 Billion (Jan. 13, 2016 – California, Florida and Tennessee)
5. $1.326 Billion (April 6, 2024 – Oregon)
6. $1.08 Billion (July 19, 2023 – California)
7. $1 Billion est. (Dec 13, 2025)
8. $842.4 Million (January 1, 2024 – Michigan)
9. $768.4 Million (March 27, 2019 – Wisconsin)
10. $758.7 Million (Aug. 23, 2017 – Massachusetts)

Now, join the conversation below and share the things you dream of doing if you win the lottery jackpot.