Powerball jackpot soars to $332 million for September 23 drawing - Here's what Wednesday night's winner could take home

The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $332 million for Wednesday night’s drawing after no ticket matched all six winning numbers in Monday’s draw. If someone hits the jackpot on Wednesday, the lucky winner will have two payout options: receive the full $332 million through an annuity paid over 30 years, or choose a one-time lump-sum payment of $141.7 million. However, the winner would not actually take home either of those advertised amounts. Like other major lottery prizes in the United States, Powerball winnings are subject to taxes. A jackpot winner would have to pay federal income tax, while additional state and local taxes could also apply depending on where the winning ticket was purchased and where the winner lives.

POWERBALL'S MASSIVE JACKPOTS CONTINUE IN 2026

Winning the jackpot in the Powerball lottery is an exceptionally rare occurrence. To qualify for the jackpot, one would need to pick all five white balls and the red Powerball ball. This gives one only 1 in 292.2 million chances of winning which makes it one of the most difficult jackpots to win in a lottery. Despite the extremely low chance of winning, there are a few record breaking jackpots that have been won in the year 2026 for the Powerball lottery. The highest jackpot won in the year 2026 was won in Illinois on August 12, where the ticket won all six numbers, and hence the $1.04 billion jackpot. The jackpot had rolled over for 44 consecutive drawings before finally being won.

There were two ways of receiving the payout by the Illinois lottery winner. The declared price was $1.04 billion and the approximate price of the cash payout was $450.5 million. It should be mentioned that the prizes in Illinois were gross amounts. As a result, the net amount of the winnings will always be lower than the gross one because of the tax deduction. Illinois is not the only state in the USA where a substantial winner of the Powerball lottery was observed in 2026. The prize of $209.3 million was estimated in January in North Carolina and the prize of $250.8 million was estimated in March in Arkansas. These massive prizes highlight just how large Powerball jackpots can become when no ticket matches all six numbers over multiple drawings.

HOW HIGH CAN THE POWERBALL JACKPOT GO?

This is because the jackpot increases very quickly because of the failure of any player to win all the six numbers. It increases because it moves on to the next round until it becomes hundreds or even billions of dollars. In the history of Powerball game, the highest amount that was ever won is approximately $2.04 billion in the year 2022. Also, there have been two jackpots that were worth more than $1.7 billion. One of them was about $1.817 billion in 2025 while the other was about $1.787 billion.

Winners are not required to match all six numbers in order to win a sizeable amount of money. Matching all five white numbers but not matching the red Powerball number will award a player one million dollars before taxes. There is also an option called the Power Play, which can multiply most non-jackpot prizes that players can purchase.

Powerball lottery tickets can be purchased in 45 states as well as Washington DeC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball has retained its popularity because of its huge players' base, large jackpots, and rollover feature. Anticipation increases among those who have purchased their Powerball tickets when the jackpot gets bigger with every successive draw.

Powerball winning numbers for September 21

The winning numbers for September 21 (Monday): 02-07-09-17-58 and the Powerball is: 20. The Powerplay was 2X.

When is the next Powerball drawing?

The next drawing will take place on September 23, Wednesday. Drawings are held three times per week at approximately 10:59 PM ET every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

What is the Powerball payout?

• Match 5 White Balls + Powerball: Jackpot
• Match 5 White Balls: $1 million
• Match 4 White Balls + Powerball: $50,000
• Match 4 White Balls: $100
• Match 3 White Balls + Powerball: $100
• Match 3 White Balls: $7
• Match 2 White Balls + Powerball: $7
• Match 1 White Ball + Powerball: $4
• Match Powerball: $4
• Match 5 White Balls with Power Play: $2 million
• Match 4 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $200,000
• Match 4 White Balls with Power Play: $400
• Match 3 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $400
• Match 3 White Balls with Power Play: $28
• Match 2 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $28
• Match 1 White Ball + Powerball with Power Play: $16
• Match Powerball with Power Play: $16

Deadline to buy Powerball tickets

Powerball ticket buying times vary from one state to another and, therefore, one should not take any chances. In New Jersey, ticket sales will end at 9:59 PM, but in New York, the sales will end at 10 PM.

How to play Powerball?

The cost of purchasing a ticket for the Powerball game is two dollars, while an extra dollar is required for the Power Play where non-jackpot prizes will be multiplied by five times and ten times if the jackpot is less than 150 million dollars.

Each participant selects his/her numbers ranging from 1 to 69 for the five white balls and one number from 1 to 26 for the Powerball. Alternatively, quick picks are made by lottery machine.

The amounts of prizes differ from four dollars when matching just the Powerball to one million dollars when five white balls are matched (except for California).

How many states have Powerball?

Powerball tickets can be bought in 45 states, including Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. In fact, it ranks among the most popular lottery games in America.

How to buy Powerball tickets?

The Powerball lottery tickets can be purchased physically at gas stations, convenience stores, supermarkets, and some airport terminal shops.

The other method to purchase Powerball tickets is by using the Jackpocket app online in selected states such as Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington DC, and West Virginia.

Through the Jackpocket app, one can select the game of choice, pick numbers, order the ticket, and claim any winnings directly from the mobile phone or desktop computer.