Powerball jackpot now hits $700m with no winner on Wednesday

• Powerball’s jackpot didn’t fall in the Wednesday, August 20 draw
• A new draw is due on Saturday, August 23
• The prize is approaching record-setting numbers once again

Another evening has gone by in the United States with no Powerball winner in sight. The jackpot has, as a result, soared to the eye-watering $700m after the winning numbers: 31, 59, 62, 56, 68, and red Powerball 5 were not won by a single ticket, the lottery confirmed.

A winner could scoop up a significant amount of this prize, whether they choose to go for a 30-year annuity option or claim the whole shebang in one go at $316.3 million, and usually the preferred way of claiming the reward.

Potential Powerball winner on Saturday could walk away with about $200m prize

However, the lump sum would then be further reduced to "just" $240.4m after the mandatory federal tax has been paid, with a potential further reduction of the price pool to $199.3m owing to the federal marginal rate, which is based on taxable income.

State taxes may also apply, and while Powerball winners have to part with a huge amount of the total sum, this has not stopped people from trying, especially when the prizes are so significant.

Lump sums may seemingly put people at a disadvantage tax-wise, but there is a good rationale for this. Some people fear that if they pass away early, their heirs may have difficulty claiming the prize or that their claim could be challenged by other family members.

Inflation is also eating into the value of money, and getting more now to invest in stock and other assets could also be a more worthwhile strategy for most people.

Instinctively, however, most people just do not trust the lottery holding such a large amount for them for decades to come, although the process is guarded by law. Just ask the Texan resident who fought for months to get her prize paid out.

With the Wednesday draw now concluded, the next draw is coming around on Saturday, August 23, and the jackpot is expected to hit more than $750m. The jackpot is still far from the record-setter – the $1.59bn won in January 2016, but it’s getting closer to some of the largest prize pools on record.

The prize pools may become even bigger, given that the game is planning to increase its ticket prices in the same way that Mega Millions did.

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