The ultimate holiday gift is officially on the table for Saturday night. After no ticket matched all six numbers in Wednesday’s drawing, the Powerball jackpot has swelled to an estimated $1.5 billion.
If won, the prize would rank as the fifth-largest in the game’s history and the seventh-largest jackpot ever offered in the United States. For a winner choosing the lump-sum cash option, the payout is approximately $686.5 million before taxes.
“This jackpot is set to deliver the ultimate windfall,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair.
While the grand prize remained elusive Wednesday night, millions of dollars in consolation prizes were still paid out across the country. Eight tickets matched the five white balls to win at least $1 million.
READ: Feeling Lucky? Florida Lottery Rolls Out 4 New Scratch-Offs With $281 Million Up For Grabs
Two tickets—sold in Arizona and Massachusetts—included the Power Play option, doubling their prize to $2 million each. Six other tickets won $1 million, including three sold in New York, with others in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
The winning numbers for Wednesday night were white balls 25, 33, 53, 62, and 66, with a red Powerball of 17. The Power Play multiplier was 4X.
A Record-Breaking Run
Saturday’s drawing will mark a significant milestone: it is the 45th drawing in the current jackpot run, setting a new game record for the most consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner.
This cycle also cements a rare statistical event. It is only the second time in Powerball history that the game has produced back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion. The last time this occurred was in 2023. The current run follows the massive $1.787 billion prize split by winners in Missouri and Texas on Sept. 6.
READ: 4 Winners, $13.6 Million: Florida Lottery Reveals Latest Scratch-Off Millionaires
In addition to the main draw, a Florida player struck gold in the separate Double Play drawing, matching all five black balls to win $500,000.
How to Play
The next drawing is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20, at 10:59 p.m. ET. Tickets are $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9, while the odds of snagging the jackpot remain 1 in 292.2 million.
Top 7 U.S. Lottery Jackpots:
- $2.04 Billion – Powerball (Nov. 2022)
- $1.787 Billion – Powerball (Sept. 2025)
- $1.765 Billion – Powerball (Oct. 2023)
- $1.602 Billion – Mega Millions (Aug. 2023)
- $1.586 Billion – Powerball (Jan. 2016)
- $1.537 Billion – Mega Millions (Oct. 2018)
- $1.5 Billion (est.) – Powerball (Dec. 2025)
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