We Have a Winner! What Happens If Nobody Claims Record $1.73 Billion Powerball Jackpot?

Powerball ticket

After a nearly three-month stretch with no one matching all six numbers, we finally have a winner of the record-setting $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot. The Oct. 11 jackpot is the second-largest payout in the game's history.

No one had matched all six numbers and won the Powerball jackpot since July 19 when a single player in Los Angeles, California claimed $1.08 billion. It's unprecedented that two back-to-back jackpots would skyrocket past $1 billon.

The winning ticket was sold at Midway Market and Liquors in Frazier Park, Calif. The Powerball winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball 10.

But these jackpots, while huge, are not the biggest. In November, 2022 one individual purchased a wining ticket worth a whopping $2.04 billion. According to Powerball, the odds of this epic win are 1 in 292.2 million.

“#BREAKING,” Tweeted the California Lottery. "California was the only state to sell a #jackpot winning #Powerball ticket!! Almost two billion dollars! More coming in now..."

The winning ticket to the world’s second-largest jackpot was sold at Midway Market & Liquor, a gas station about an hour-and-a half north of Los Angeles.

The winner has one year to come forward and claim their winnings before losing the money.

Curiously, over the years many millions of dollars in lottery winnings have never been claimed. Reports estimate that about $2 billion annually remains uncollected. That’s more than last night's record-breaking jackpot unclaimed EVERY YEAR.

Peter Sullivan, founder and CEO of Jackpocket. a leading third-party app to provide a secure way to order official state lottery tickets, believes that lottery tickets go unclaimed unintentionally. "In many cases it's due to lost tickets or to lottery winners forgetting to check results, misreading their ticket, and not realizing they’ve won," he previously told Parade. "One of the great things about Jackpocket is that we check your ticket for you after the drawing and automatically notify you when you win at any prize level."

Related: What Happens If No One Claims the Mega Millions Jackpot?

"We never know exactly why someone doesn’t claim, but I would speculate that often it’s because they forgot they bought tickets altogether and never even realize they won! That, or they lost their ticket before the winning numbers were drawn?,” Carolyn Becker, Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Communications for CA Lottery, previously told Parade.

Becker went on to add in California alone $1 billion in lottery winnings remains unclaimed.

“Believe or not, about $1 billion of the roughly $40 billion the California Lottery has raised [for California public schools] since its inception is from unclaimed prizes,” she added. “So it happens more often than people think. Perhaps the only reason I can think of is if their main motivation for playing is to support public schools and they know that’s where any unclaimed money goes.”

So what happens when no one  claims the Powerball jackpot? We learned more.

Where was the record breaking $1.73 billion Powerball ticket sold?

The $1.73 billion Powerball ticket was sold at Midway Market and Liquors in Frazier Park, Calif., a mountain town about 1 1/2 hours north of Los Angeles.

Who won the $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot?

We do not yet know the winner of $1.73 billions Powerball ticket sold at the at Midway Market and Liquors in Frazier Park, Calif.

When Edward Castro, picked up a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in July 2023, he declined interviews but released this statement, “As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing, the real winner is the California public school system,” he said. “The mission of the California Lottery, which is to provide supplemental funding for California public education — both public schools and colleges — makes this a huge win for the state.”

What's the cash value of the $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot?

According to Powerball, if the winner of the $1.73 billion jackpot chooses the cash lump sum, they will collect an estimated at $756.6 million before taxes. The winner can also opt for one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments.

How much do Powerball winners pay in taxes?

If the single winner of the world's largest lottery jackpot takes the lump sum, he or she will owe the IRS a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding of $181.5 million, leaving them with $575.1 million.

Can a lottery winner remain anonymous?

In some states, yes, but not in California. According to California law the winner must be identified. "Any CA Lottery winner’s name is subject to public record, per a couple of our state laws: mostly the California Public Records Act," Becker told Parade in a previous interview. "And there’s also language in the California State Lottery Act."

However, Becker goes on to explain a winner’s name is the only personal information that is public record. "The other aspects that are public are how much the prize is worth, where the ticket was sold, and whether the winner of a large jackpot takes the lump sum or the annual payments," adds Becker.

If no one claims the Powerball jackpot, who will get the money?

If no one claims the jackpot, the funds the states raises toward the cash value of the jackpot, which is about 13% of the winnings, goes directly to the state lottery's beneficiary.

Have any other jackpots been unclaimed?

Yes! In the United States, some big jackpots have never been claimed including the $77 million Powerball ticket in Georgia in 2011, the $68 million Mega Millions ticket sold in New York in December 2002, the $51.7 million Powerball ticket sold in Indiana in September 2002 and the $46 million Mega Millions ticket purchased in New York in April 2006.

What did the seller of the $1.73 billion winning Powerball ticket get?

The owner of Midway Market and Liquors will collect a bonus of $1 million for selling the winning ticket.

Related: See Inside This $180 Million Lottery Winner's Mountaintop Home

If you happen to be the holder of a winning Powerball ticket what should you do?

"Don’t lose the ticket! Keep it safe and as secure as you can because you need it to claim the prize," Becker says.

The lottery also recommends that their biggest winners take their time. "They have a year to come forward, and it’s good practice to seek financial advice, hire a lawyer or other experts to help you.," adds Becker. "We are talking about a life-changing amount of money, and it’s not often someone comes into wealth of this proportion. The winner will have some key decisions to make and should surround themselves with professionals who can help."

Related: Florida Man Can Thank His Dog for Lottery Win

What are the largest Powerball jackpots in history?

While this week's $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot smashes previous records, there have been many sizable prizes over the years. Here are top 6, including this week's prize.

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 (one ticket, from California)

2. 1.73 billions, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 (one ticket, from California)

3. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)

4. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)

5. $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)

6. $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)

7. $754.6 million, Powerball, Feb. 6, 2023 (one ticket, from Washington)

8 $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)

9. $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 (one ticket, from California)

10. 687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)

11. 632.6 million, Powerball, Jan. 5, 2022, (two tickets, from California and Wisconsin)

Related: The Biggest Lottery Winners of All Time