Powerball jackpot reaches $687 million for Monday

Powerball's jackpot stands at an estimated $687 million for Monday, October 26, 2026, after Saturday's drawing produced no ticket matching all six numbers. A sole winner choosing the cash option would receive an estimated $294.7 million before taxes. The larger advertised amount is the total of an annuity paid over time, not a cheque available immediately.

The run has now passed 31 drawings without a jackpot winner since a ticket sold in Illinois won on August 12. Monday will be the 32nd drawing of the new run. That long sequence explains how the prize has grown, but it does not make any individual combination more likely to win when the balls are drawn at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Saturday's numbers left the jackpot untouched

The winning numbers on Saturday, October 24, were 4, 5, 15, 19 and 55, with Powerball 19. The Power Play multiplier was 2X. Powerball's official results page lists that drawing's estimated jackpot at $665 million, with a cash value of $285.2 million.

No ticket matched all five white balls and the red Powerball. There were also no winners in the Match 5 category or the Match 5 with Power Play category, which ordinarily pay $1 million and $2 million respectively. Those results do not mean that every ticket lost: lower prize categories still produced winners.

The distinction matters when checking a ticket. The jackpot requires the full combination, while smaller awards depend on different matches. The red Powerball is a separate number drawn from a separate pool, so its appearance as 19 alongside a white 19 is entirely valid. Readers can check results and the next estimate on the official Powerball website.

A run that began after the Illinois billion dollar win

Powerball was last won on Wednesday, August 12, when a single ticket sold in Quincy, Illinois, secured a $1.040 billion jackpot. Its cash value was $450.5 million. The Illinois Lottery subsequently announced that the prize had been claimed, with the winner remaining anonymous.

The present sequence began with the August 15 drawing. Counting the scheduled Monday, Wednesday and Saturday drawings through October 24 gives 31 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. The count refers to drawings in the current run, not to the number of days since the previous win or to the number of tickets sold.

That difference also explains why a long calendar gap does not directly measure the rarity of a run. Powerball draws three times a week, while Mega Millions draws twice. Each game's jackpot grows within its own schedule and prize system. Neither game inherits the other's results, and a win in one does not stop the other jackpot from growing.

Where $687 million sits in Powerball history

If won at the current estimate, the $687 million jackpot would rank 16th among Powerball jackpots, comparing the amount with the game's published jackpot history. It sits just below the $687.8 million prize shared by tickets in Iowa and New York on October 27, 2018.

It remains outside Powerball's top ten. The current tenth position belongs to the $768.4 million jackpot won in Wisconsin on March 27, 2019. The record is $2.040 billion, won by a California ticket on November 7, 2022. August's Illinois prize ranks eighth.

These comparisons use the total annuity values, keeping the measurement consistent. Comparing one historical winner's cash payment with a current annuity headline would give a misleading ranking. Monday's position is also provisional: the advertised prize remains an estimate until sales and the arrangements supporting the annuity are finalized. A revised amount could therefore change the comparison before the eventual prize is settled.

The $2 play and the odds that do not move

A standard U.S. Powerball play costs $2. Players select five different white ball numbers from 1 to 69 and one red Powerball number from 1 to 26, or let the terminal make a random selection. In Idaho and Montana, Power Play is bundled with the game, making the minimum purchase $3 per play.

The chance of matching all six numbers is 1 in 292,201,338, usually rounded to 1 in 292.2 million. That probability remains the same whether the jackpot is small or has reached hundreds of millions of dollars. A bigger prize changes the amount potentially available, not the combination of numbers a ticket must match.

Previous results offer no reliable shortcut. A number that appeared on Saturday is neither exhausted nor overdue for Monday. Selecting birthdays, repeating a familiar line or using a random selection does not alter the probability attached to a particular valid combination. The 31 unsuccessful jackpot drawings describe the past; they do not create a promise about the next result.

Cash and annuity are two different payment choices

For the upcoming drawing, the choice is between an estimated $294.7 million cash payment and an annuity totaling an estimated $687 million. Both figures are before taxes and assume a sole jackpot winner. If several tickets match all six numbers, the jackpot is shared among them.

The annuity consists of an initial payment followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5% larger than the previous one, so the total is not divided into 30 equal instalments. The cash option generally represents the money required in the jackpot pool on the drawing date to fund the estimated annuity.

The gap between those values is therefore not a tax bill. Tax is a separate deduction that applies to the chosen payout. Cash offers money at once; the annuity provides an increasing schedule of payments. A winner must assess the options under the claiming lottery's rules, including the deadline for choosing a payment method, rather than treating the headline amount as immediately spendable cash.

Taxes further change what a winner receives

For a U.S. taxpayer subject to regular lottery withholding, federal rules generally require 24% to be withheld when lottery winnings minus the wager exceed $5,000. That is an advance payment toward tax, not a guarantee that the final tax rate is 24%. The top federal individual income tax rate for 2026 is 37%, although the actual calculation depends on the winner's circumstances.

State and, where applicable, local taxes may also affect the result. There is no single after tax number that accurately describes every possible winner. A calculation that simply subtracts federal withholding and labels the balance a final take home prize misses that distinction.

International readers face another qualification. U.S. gambling winnings paid to nonresident foreign individuals are generally subject to 30% federal tax when no relevant treaty exemption or reduction applies. Residency, treaty eligibility and obligations in another country require individual assessment. A winner should obtain qualified tax advice before selecting a payout or making plans around a net amount.

Monday's drawing and the steps that follow

Powerball drawings take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Sales close before the drawing, with the cutoff depending on the jurisdiction. The draw time should not be treated as a universal ticket purchase deadline, particularly by readers following the game from another time zone.

The immediate question is whether Monday's drawing produces a ticket matching all six numbers. If it does, the selling lottery must validate the claim before a prize is paid. If it does not, the jackpot carries forward and a new estimate is announced for the next drawing.

Claims must be made in the jurisdiction where the ticket was purchased. Deadlines and anonymity rules vary, so a winner cannot assume that the Illinois winner's arrangements apply everywhere. Keep the ticket secure, check the relevant lottery's instructions and distinguish an official result from an unsolicited message claiming that money is waiting.

Lottery play is gambling, and drawings are random. Play only within a budget you can afford, and do not increase spending to recover losses or chase a growing jackpot.