Tonight’s Powerball Drawing Is… $1 Billlllion Dollars

AUSTIN, TX — The Powerball grand prize has soared to an estimated annualized $1 billion for Wednesday night’s drawing, the eighth-largest jackpot in the game’s history, the Texas Lottery announced Wednesday. 

The estimated cash option is $433.1 million. If no one matches all six numbers, the prize will climb to an estimated $1.12 billion for the Saturday, Aug. 15, drawing. 

Wednesday’s drawing is the 44th in a jackpot run that began at an estimated $20 million on May 4. It is the largest Powerball prize of 2026 so far and has driven ticket sales across Texas and beyond.

“The latest Powerball jackpot run has been building momentum all summer long. With two Powerball jackpots won by Texas Lottery players in the past year, this one is creating a lot of excitement for our players,” said Courtney Arbour, executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversees the Texas Lottery. “As enthusiasm grows, so do ticket sales, which leads to more funds for public education in Texas. Remember, you only need one ticket to win.”

Texas has produced four Powerball jackpot winners since joining the game in 2010, including two in the past year. In September 2025, the Seven Bridges Revocable Trust of Fredericksburg shared an estimated $1.8 billion prize — then the second-largest in U.S. lottery history — for the Sept. 6 drawing. A Leander resident more recently shared a $20 million prize advertised for the May 2 drawing. 

Players win the grand prize by matching five numbers from a field of 69 and the Powerball from a field of 26. Power Play is available for an extra $1 per play and multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times (the 10X option is limited to drawings with an advertised jackpot of $150 million or less). A Power Play Match 5 prize is fixed at $2 million. 

Winners must choose the annuity or cash option when buying the ticket. The annuity is paid in 30 graduated installments over 29 years, with each payment after the first increasing by 5%. The Texas Lottery advises winners to seek financial and legal counsel. 

Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:12 p.m. CT. Ticket sales for Wednesday’s drawing close at 9 p.m. CT. Powerball tickets are sold at more than 19,000 retailers statewide. Retailers that sell a jackpot-winning ticket may qualify for a $250,000 bonus.