The Powerball jackpot kept climbing for months, and the lottery finally handed out one of the biggest jackpots in US history on Wednesday. The Powerball jackpot reached a whopping $768 million for the March 27 drawing, and one winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin. The pot had been growing since the last time someone bought a winning Powerball ticket in December 2018. The $768 million jackpot is now the third-largest US lottery prize in history. But, that jackpot is still about half the size of the all-time record for a US lottery drawing, which came in January 2016. That Powerball drawing awarded $1.59 billion, while a close runner-up was the $1.54 billion Mega Millions prize handed out in October. The odds of winning the top Powerball prize this week were roughly one in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. Lottery winners choose between receiving their winnings in an annuity — with payments over 30 years — or the more popular option, a single lump sum payment in a smaller amount (that's the option Kevin O'Leary says you should choose). The lump sum on Wednesday's Powerball drawing is $477 million. Here is a look at the top lottery prizes ever won (so far).

1. $1.586 billion (Powerball)

2. $1.537 billion (Mega Millions)

The winner of last year's huge drawing took their time to come forward. The anonymous winner (South Carolina is one of a handful of states that allows lottery winners to claim their prize anonymously) finally claimed their winnings earlier this month, a little more than a month ahead of the April 19 deadline to come forward. What we do know is that the winner chose the cash option for their prize, which resulted in a one-time payment of almost $878 million. While it's not the largest-ever jackpot, that number does represent the biggest payout to a single lottery winner in US history. Based on the expected tax bill, the total haul from that jackpot will be about $491.7 million, after both federal and state taxes (a 7 percent income tax in South Carolina, plus the 37 percent federal rate), while other taxes may also apply.

3. $768.4 million (Powerball)

The winner of Wednesday night's big Powerball drawing has not yet come forward to claim their prize, but the winning ticket was sold in New Berlin, Wisconsin, a small city located in the suburbs of Milwaukee. Wisconsin is not one of the US states that allows lottery winners to remain anonymous, so the winner will have to come forward within 180 days to publicly claim their prize under state law.

4. $758.7 million (Powerball)

Mavis L. Wanczyk was announced as the winner of the $758.7 Million Powerball Jackpot in August of 2017. Boston Globe | Getty Images

Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts, claimed the winning ticket for the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot in August of 2017, taking $480.5 million before taxes as the lump sum payment. One of the first things Wanczyk did after winning was to tell her employer, Mercy Medical Center, that she was quitting after working there for 32 years. "I've called them and told them I will not be coming back," she told NBC.

5. $687.8 million (Powerball)