Powerball Numbers For April 26, 2017: $100 Million Jackpot

Did your ticket pay off? The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday night's drawing was $100 million, a nice round sum that would give you $62.5 million if you have the lucky ticket and opt for cash value. Here are the winning numbers for April 26, 2017: 1, 15, 18, 26, 51, and Powerball 26.

There were Match 5 winners in California, Illinois, and New York, but the jackpot was untouched, which means that the drawing to take place on Saturday could earn someone $113 million. There were two Match 4 + Powerball winners in Texas, meaning two people in the Lone Star state won $50,000 each in Wednesday's draw.

Want to know where to buy your lucky tickets? Click here for the Texas lottery retailer database.

The record in the Powerball game was a $1.6 billion drawing in January 2016, which was won by a group of Tennessee workers. Just last month, on Feb. 22, a lucky player in Indiana won the $435 Powerball jackpot, the 10th largest in the game's history.

Each ticket costs $2. Saturday's jackpot is tiny when compared with the January 2016 record Powerball jackpot, which was worth nearly $1.6 billion. But Americans will still drop by the nearest convenience store with dreams of cash and buy a ticket. The billion-dollar-plus prize won in the Jan. 13, 2016, drawing was the largest lotto jackpot awarded in U.S. history and was split by three winners. In the summer of 2016, a New Hampshire player won a $478 million prize.

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If you still want to take a chance — someone has to win, right? — you have a better chance of hitting the jackpot if you let the computer pick your numbers. The Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the Powerball game, says about 75 percent of winning tickets are selected when the numbers are chosen by a computer.

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The lottery game is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball draws can be seen on hundreds of TV stations nationwide. It may also be available on cable or your mobile device. The draws are also posted on YouTube and on our site. Where to watch the Powerball drawing on TV.

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.

(Patch Editor Deb Belt contributed to this story.)

— Image: Powerball.com