Winning Powerball Numbers Drawn For August 23, 2017: $758 Million Jackpot

The winning numbers for the Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 Powerball drawing have been drawn for a jackpot of $758 million. It's the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. There hasn't been a jackpot-winning Powerball ticket since the June 14 drawing. If no one hits the big one Wednesday, the jackpot is expected to top $1 billion for Saturday's drawing.

Wednesday's winning numbers are: 6-7-16-23-26 and Powerball No. 4 One winning ticket was sold in Massachusetts.

"$700 million is certainly life-changing money, and New Yorkers are buying tickets to be a part of the excitement,” said Gweneth Dean, Director of the Division of the New York Lottery. “Powerball fever has once again arrived in New York State, and we are excited for all our players.”

Mega-Millionaire Lottery Winners: Where Are They Now?

The Powerball jackpot is won by matching five white balls in any order and the red Powerball number.

Two Powerball tickets worth $50,000 were sold on Long Island for this past Saturday's drawing.

Here's How Much The $700 Powerball Jackpot Is Really Worth To A Long Islander

Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern time. The record in the game was a $1.6 billion drawing in January 2016, which was won by a couple from Tennessee. And five months ago, on Feb. 22, a lucky player in Indiana won the $435 million Powerball jackpot, the 10th largest in the game's history.

Since New York joined Powerball in 2010, New York has sold 6 jackpot-winning tickets for the game:

• Dece. 25, 2010 - $48.8 million – Jeffrey & Christine Pintuff of Gansevoort
• Jan. 22, 2011 - $122.1 million – Stephen Kirwan of Purling
• June 1, 2011 - $201.9 million – 1937 Flatbush Avenue Dodgers Group of Jericho
• Feb. 25, 2012 - $70 million – Case Park, LLC of Hartsdale
• Nov. 16, 2013 - $130.3 million – Maksim Nikolayev of Brooklyn
• March 14, 2015 - $136.0 million – Perosi of Manhattan

How Did The Jackpot Get So High?

The Washington Post explains: "Tweaks to the game in October 2015 increased the number of total balls, from 59 to 69, from which players need to pick five. It may seem like a modest change, but the odds of winning the jackpot plummeted."

The odds went from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292 million after the change.

Claiming, Safeguarding Winnings

So, what should you do if you win the big prize? Many lottery winners hire an attorney, financial planner or both, since most people don’t exactly know what to do when they suddenly come into so much money. Some even bring their lawyer with them to claim their prize. The lottery does not offer any counseling services or advice for winners.

You have two choices when you claim your prize: the full value paid in 30 installments over 29 years, or a one-time lump sum that is smaller than the actual total. Then there are the taxes. The federal tax on lottery winnings is 25 percent. Then, any extra income taxes like state or city would apply.

Financial experts say that if you can get more than a 3 or 4 percent return on an investment, the lump sum is actually the best way to go in the long-term.