Powerball Winning Numbers For 10/4/2021 Drawing: $685M Jackpot

The Powerball lottery jackpot has climbed to a whopping $685 million for the player who holds the winning ticket on Monday, Oct. 4. The one-time cash payout for tonight's Powerball drawing is $485.5 million, lottery officials said.

This is the highest the Powerball jackpot has been since the Jan. 20, 2021 drawing when a $731.1 million jackpot was won in Maryland, game officials said in a news release.

If won, Monday's jackpot will be the sixth largest prize in Powerball game history and the eighth largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history.

The winning Powerball numbers for Monday, Oct. 4, are: 12, 22, 54, 66, 69 and the Powerball of 15.

Lottery officials have advice for whoever has the winning numbers:

1. Sign your winning ticket. Write your full name and signature on the back of the winning ticket. If you lose your ticket, having your name on the ticket means that no one else will be able to cash it in.
2. Keep your winning ticket in a safe place. Take steps to protect your winning lottery ticket by putting it somewhere safe where it won’t accidentally get thrown out.
3. Get legal and financial advice. It might be wise to talk to some experienced professionals such as a lawyer, an accountant, or an investment advisor to help manage your winnings. The winning Powerball numbers are drawn every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern time, with Powerball results usually posted within 5 minutes.

Ticket sales end at least one hour before the drawing in most states, but a state may halt sales earlier, such as Illinois, which stops sales three hours before the drawing. In Maryland and New Jersey, ticket sales end at 9:59 p.m.; in Virginia, they close at 10 p.m. Check with your state lottery for the cut-off time.

The largest Powerball jackpot in history was $1.586 billion, which was split by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016.

To win the Powerball jackpot, a player must match all five white balls in any order and the red Powerball number. The odds of picking the correct Powerball grand prize numbers are one in 292,201,338, which doesn't change even if more players buy tickets when the jackpot is enormous.

You have a better chance of winning the Powerball jackpot if you let the computer select your numbers, according to lottery officials. About 75 percent of winning tickets over the years had numbers picked by a computer.

Powerball tickets cost $2 each. Find locations where you can buy your Powerball tickets here.

These are the five largest Powerball jackpots in the game's history:

• $1.586 billion, Jan. 13, 2016
• $768.4 million, March 27, 2019
• $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017
• $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021
• $688 million, Oct. 27, 2018
• $590.5 million, May 18, 2013

Winners can choose to either have the full jackpot amount paid out in 30 installments over 29 years, or winners can take one lump sum payment that is smaller than the actual total.