Tonight, Powerball has an estimated $750 million jackpot, which has a cash value of $465.6 million before taxes. If you bought a ticket, you’ll want to watch the results live as they happen, whether you’re watching online or on TV. If you want to watch the Powerball drawing live tonight, March 27, 2019, then it starts at 10:59 p.m. Eastern/9:59 p.m. Central. But you only have a few options for livestreaming the drawing. Your best option is watching the live newscast above from WNEP. They broadcast every lottery live, including Powerball. An embed of the livestream is above or you can watch at the link here. Note that the video above make take a few seconds to appear, after the rest of the page has loaded. It will show regular newscasts and encores until the drawing. If the video doesn’t work for any reason, there are a few additional streams you can try, which we’re listing below. (Note: these streams may automatically play sound. If so, you can go to the two streams directly and mute them.)
Additional Live Streams Available
Another live stream is available from WSB-TV Atlanta. You can watch below.
You can sometimes catch a livestream at WGN-TV at this link. Here they have live streams of their newscasts, which often include the Powerball drawing.
You can also try the livestream from WRAL. They’ll have an older drawing at that link until the new drawing happens.
Or try Texas Lottery’s live webcast here. (It’s sometimes delayed by about 12 minutes.)
If you want to watch via an app, you have a few options for that method too. You may be able to watch live streams on your phone via the LotteryHUB app. Download the iTunes app here and the Android app here.
If none of these options work, a video of the drawing will be posted about 30 minutes after the drawing at Powerball.com. You might also like to know that a channel on YouTube posts a video of every drawing online after it happens. That channel is here, and you’ll be able to watch a video of the drawing there later if you miss it when it happens or if the live stream has glitches again.
Preview for Tonight’s $750 Million Jackpot
Tonight’s Powerball is worth $750 million, with a cash value of $465.6 million. (The cash value is how much you would take home, before taxes, if you choose the lump sum rather than the annuity option.) The odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292 million, slightly better than the odds of winning Mega Millions which are 1 in 302 million.
This isn’t the biggest Powerball in history, which was more than $1 billion in January 2016. However, this is the fourth-largest Powerball in the lottery’s history and the seventh-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. This is also the largest jackpot so far in 2019.
USA Today warned that players might want to avoid getting into lottery pools at work because it can be tough to get your money if you win. For example, 12 coworkers won a $118 million lottery in 2012 and then were sued by colleagues. And in 2009, six employees won a $38.5 million jackpot, but one of the players quit his job and tried to keep the money to himself. In order to avoid this, you should get the deal in writing, signed by everyone in the group, and assign one person as the point of contact. People may forego these precautions because they don’t think they’ll win, but it’s important to have in place if you do.
If you do win the jackpot tonight, AZ Central suggests trying to stay anonymous if you can. Don’t announce immediately that you won. Instead, consult with an attorney first. Not all states let you stay anonymous, but you can claim the prize through an anonymous trust in some locations. Plan to pay off your debts before making big purchases, and then budget what you spend. You’ll want to hire a financial advisor to help you plan your first steps. You’ll also want to look into increasing your insurance coverage, adding some money to an IRA, and diversify your investments and banks.
You’ll also have to decide if you want a lump sum or an annuity. An annuity guarantees an income stream for 30 years that includes a 5 percent yearly increase to offset inflation. This can help ensure you don’t spend all your money too fast or make poor decisions. But there’s a small chance that the entity making the payout might run out of cash before 30 years is up. With the lump sum, you’ll get less money overall, but you’ll get it all at once. Some financial advisors say that if you invest your lump sum wisely, you might end up with more money than you would from annuity payments. But of course, it could go the other way too.
Powerball is sold in 44 states and in D.C. The only states that don’t offer Powerball tickets are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, and Utah.
It only costs $2 to play Powerball, with an extra $1 if you choose the Powerplay option. The odds of winning the jackpot are 292,201,338 to 1, which is better than the Mega Millions odds of 302,575,350 to 1.
To win the jackpot, you would need to match all five white balls and the red Powerball. Here’s how the other matches work. If you match all five white balls, in any order, but not the Powerball, then you’ll get $1 million. If you match four out of five of the white balls and the Powerball, you’ll win $50,000. The amount you win drops dramatically after this. You have two ways to win $100: either match four out of five of the white balls OR match three white balls and the Powerball. Next is your shot at $7. You’ll win $7 if you either match three out of five of the white balls OR you match two white balls and the Powerball. Last is your shot at $4, which you could use to buy two more Powerball tickets if you wanted. You’ll get this if you match one white ball and the Powerball OR if you just match the Powerball. If you only match one and it’s the white ball, you won’t take home anything.
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