No Joke – Powerball jackpot reaches $1 billion on April Fools’ Day
JOHNSTON, Iowa (April 1, 2024) – The Powerball® jackpot has officially reached the one-billion-dollar mark! The Powerball jackpot is now estimated at $1 billion for tonight’s drawing. The jackpot has an estimated cash value of $483.8 million.
This is only the fifth advertised Powerball jackpot to reach $1 billion. The prize ranks as Powerball’s fifth-largest jackpot overall and the largest advertised jackpot, so far, this year.
“This is no April Fools’ Day joke, we have an advertised Powerball jackpot that’s hit $1 billion to kick off the month of April,” said Drew Svitko, Powerball Product Group Chair and Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director. “This is an exciting time to play Powerball. Whether you’re a frequent or new player, please remember to keep the game fun by playing responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win.”
Ticket sales cut-off times vary by jurisdiction, but typically occur 1-2 hours before the scheduled draw time of 10:59 p.m. EST.
If a player wins the jackpot in tonight’s drawing, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $1 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $483.8 million. Both prize options are before 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.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on Jan. 1, 2024, by a ticket in Michigan that won a prize worth $842.4 million. Since then, there have been 38 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. Tonight’s drawing will be the 39th drawing in the jackpot run.
The Powerball jackpot last rolled Saturday night after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn – white balls 12, 13, 33, 50, 52 and red Powerball 23. The Power Play® multiplier was 3X.
Despite there being no jackpot winner, more than 2.3 million tickets won cash prizes in last night’s drawing. Four tickets matched all five white balls and won $1 million prizes. The $1 million-winning tickets were sold in Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Nationwide, there were also 55 tickets that won $50,000 prizes and 11 tickets that won $150,000 prizes.
In the Double Play® drawing, a ticket in Michigan matched all five black balls drawn and won a $500,000 prize. The winning Double Play numbers were black balls 20, 29, 43, 57, 63 and Powerball 16. Double Play is an add-on feature that gives players in select jurisdictions another chance to match their Powerball numbers in a separate drawing with a top cash prize of $10 million. Players can add the Double Play feature to their Powerball ticket for an additional $1 per play. Double Play drawings are held after Powerball drawings every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Tickets are sold in 45 states, 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 drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Powerball drawings are also live streamed on Powerball.com.
The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
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Media Contacts
Thomas Nelson
Multi-State Lottery Association
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Ewa Swope
Pennsylvania Lottery
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