Powerball jackpot climbs to $725 million, 2nd-highest this year

The Powerball jackpot rose to $725 million after no one secured the jackpot in Monday night’s drawing.

The winning numbers were white balls 2, 24, 34, 53, 58 and red Powerball 13. Two people, one in California and one in Iowa, matched all five white balls but missed on the Powerball.

Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing will have the second-highest grand prize of the year, behind only a $754.6 million jackpot in February that was won by a single person in Washington State.

The grand prize money could still increase as more people buy tickets in an attempt to claim the elusive jackpot. If anyone wins, the immediate cash option will be $366.2 million before taxes, according to Powerball.

To receive the full $725 million, the winner would have to select the annuity option, which comes with a much smaller immediate payment and slightly increased payments across 29 years.

A $725 million winner would take home the seventh-richest jackpot in Powerball history. No one has claimed the grand prize since April 19, when a lucky player in Ohio won a $252.6 million jackpot. There have been 35 drawings since then.

The biggest lottery jackpot in American history was won in a Powerball drawing in November 2022. A single ticket-buyer in California, Edwin Castro, won a $2.04 billion grand prize after months of anticipation. Castro took the cash payment, worth $997.6 million.

“I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing,” he said in a statement.