Powerball Posts 9-14-44-50-56 for $526 Million Jackpot

Q: With the UK joining Powerball, could the next billion-dollar jackpot winner now come from across the Atlantic?

Yes. Once UK sales begin on July 21, a British ticket holder will be eligible to win the same top Powerball jackpot as U.S. players, including a jackpot that grows past $1 billion. The key change is that the UK National Lottery is joining the Powerball jackpot pool. Reporting indicates that lower-tier prizes may differ in the UK, but the jackpot tier is shared. That means a UK player would not be playing for a separate British top prize; they would be in the same grand-prize draw as players in the 45 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Timing matters. The July 18 drawing produced no jackpot winner, pushing the estimated prize for Monday, July 20 to $544 million. If no one wins before or after the UK launch and the jackpot keeps rolling, British players could be in contention for a much larger prize very quickly. That said, the odds do not improve for any individual ticket. The chance of hitting the jackpot remains 1 in 292,201,338. What changes is the player base: adding UK sales should increase ticket volume, which can make jackpots climb faster and may make billion-dollar runs more likely. A UK winner would still face payout and tax considerations. Powerball offers an annuity or cash option, and non-U.S. winners are generally subject to U.S. withholding, with possible additional tax treatment at home. So the short answer is clear: yes, the next billion-dollar Powerball winner could now come from across the Atlantic.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 18

$526 million was at stake in Saturday's Powerball drawing, which produced winning numbers 9, 14, 44, 50, 56 and Powerball 3.
The jackpot carried a cash option of $233.5 million after no ticket matched all numbers in Wednesday's drawing, though a Louisiana player won $2 million.
Powerball's top prize was last won on May 2, when two players split a $20 million jackpot, allowing the current pot to build through subsequent rollovers.
Since its 1992 launch, Powerball jackpots have been won more than 400 times, with California holding several of the game's biggest prizes, including the record $2.04 billion jackpot in 2022.