After the delay of Monday's drawing, Powerball has announced winning numbers for the $2.04 billion jackpot, which would be the highest payout in lottery history if won. Saturday's drawing would already have been the biggest win ever at around $1.6 billion, but no winning ticket was sold.
Earlier this year, a single ticket purchased in Chicago suburb Des Plaines won a $1.337 billlion Mega Millions jackpot - the third-highest in U.S. history and the second-highest where a single ticket won. 2021 also saw to top jackpots paid out in January, one through Powerball and one through Mega Millions.
The biggest U.S. lottery jackpot to-date is a 2016 Powerball worth $1.586 billion, which was split three ways between Tennessee, California and Florida. In October 2018, the biggest single-ticket win of $1.5 billion went to South Carolina.
The lucky ticket holders might win a billion-dollar prize, but most choose to reduce the sum by several hundred million to receive a one-time payout instead on yearlong installments. Federal taxes will reduce the winnings once more by a 24 percent hold on a lump sum but winners could owe as much as 37 percent of their income in federal taxes if they don't choose to donate or put their money into a foundation the year of their win. State taxes could eat up another 10 percent of lump sum payments.
