Honestly, checking the lottery numbers feels a bit like a ritual for most of us in Pennsylvania. You’ve got the ticket sitting on the kitchen counter, maybe tucked under a fridge magnet, and there’s that tiny spark of "what if." If you were holding a slip for the Monday, January 12, 2026, drawing, you might want to dig it out right now.
The winning numbers were 5-27-45-56-59, and the red Powerball was 4.
✨ Don't miss: Natural Pet Food & Supplies: What Most People Get Wrong About Your Dog's Bowl
If you didn't hit the big one, don't just toss the ticket. A store in Clinton County—specifically the Walmart on Hogan Boulevard in Bald Eagle Township—just sold a ticket worth $100,000 from that exact drawing. Somebody matched four of the white balls and the red Powerball. Normally, that’s a $50,000 prize, but this player was smart enough to add the $1 Power Play, which doubled their win because the multiplier was 2x.
Why the PA lottery powerball results matter right now
The jackpot is climbing. Since nobody matched all six numbers on Monday, the estimated annuity for the Wednesday, January 14, 2026, drawing has officially rolled to $156 million. If you're more of a "give me the cash now" type of person, the lump sum sits at approximately $70.5 million.
It’s easy to get lost in the big numbers, but the Pennsylvania Lottery is actually pretty busy behind the scenes. More than 20,400 other tickets won something in Monday’s drawing alone. We’re talking about everything from a few bucks for matching just the Powerball to several thousand for the Double Play drawings.
How to actually read your pa lottery powerball results
Look, the ticket is confusing. Between the "Double Play" option and the "Power Play" multiplier, it’s easy to misread your own winnings.
💡 You might also like: The Best Way to Have Sex in the Car Without Looking Like an Amateur
Basically, the Double Play is a separate drawing that happens right after the main one. For the January 12 drawing, those numbers were 11-23-24-54-56 with a Powerball of 5. It’s a totally different set of numbers, and it has a top prize of $10 million. If you paid the extra buck for Double Play, you’re checking your same numbers against that second set too.
Then there’s the Power Play. This is just a multiplier. If you win a non-jackpot prize, this number (which was 2 for the most recent draw) multiplies your winnings. If you won $4, you get $8. If you won $50,000, you get $100,000—unless you matched five white balls without the Powerball, in which case the $1 million prize just bumps to $2 million regardless of the multiplier.
The tax reality no one likes to talk about
If you actually win big, the government is going to be your new best friend. In Pennsylvania, the state takes a 3.07 percent bite out of your winnings. That’s on top of the federal withholding, which starts at 24 percent for prizes over $5,000.
Realistically? If you’re lucky enough to snag a massive prize, you’re probably looking at a total tax hit closer to 37 percent when you file your returns, especially if the win pushes you into the highest federal bracket.
📖 Related: The Perfect Cup of Coffee: Why Most People Are Getting It Wrong
Where to check if you won (don't rely on memory)
Don't trust a blurry photo of a TV screen or a quick glance at a random website.
- The Official PA Lottery App: This is the easiest way. It has a built-in scanner. You just point your phone camera at the barcode on your ticket, and it tells you exactly what you won. No math required.
- Self-Service Terminals: Most Sheetz, Wawa, or local convenience stores have those yellow machines where you can scan your own ticket.
- Official Website: The palottery.com site is the "source of truth."
If you find out you’re holding a winner of $600 or more, you can’t just cash it at the register. You'll need to fill out a formal claim form. For anything over $2,500, you usually have to visit one of the seven Area Lottery Offices. If you happen to be the one who hits the $156 million jackpot, you’re making a trip to Middletown.
What happens if you lose?
Most people just throw the losing tickets away. Don't do that yet. Pennsylvania often runs "Second Chance" drawings where you can enter the codes from your non-winning tickets into the VIP Players Club. It’s a way to get one more shot at a prize without spending more money.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 292 million. It's astronomical. But the odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 24.87. It’s usually small change, but hey, it pays for the next ticket.
The next drawing is tonight, Wednesday, January 14. If you’re playing, make sure you get your tickets before the 9:59 p.m. cutoff. If you’re buying online, the system usually stays up right until the deadline, but don’t wait until 9:58 p.m.—technology has a way of failing exactly when you need it most.
Next Steps for Players:
Check the back of your ticket and sign it immediately. A lottery ticket is a "bearer instrument," meaning whoever holds the signed ticket owns the prize. Once that's done, download the PA Lottery app and use the ticket checker to verify any small wins from the Monday drawing before the Wednesday night numbers drop.