The dream of a life-changing windfall is still alive—and growing larger by the hour.
After Wednesday night’s drawing failed to produce a grand prize winner, the Powerball jackpot has surged to an estimated $1.5 billion. If won, the massive pot would rank as the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history and the second-biggest jackpot seen this year.
The winning numbers for Wednesday’s unclaimed $1.25 billion prize were 25, 33, 53, 62, and 66, with a red Powerball of 17.
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Because no ticket matched that combination, the stakes have officially been raised for the next drawing. A potential winner now faces a choice between the full $1.5 billion paid out as an annuity over 29 years, or an immediate cash lump sum estimated at $686.5 million. Both figures are before federal and state taxes.
This current run of bad luck for players—and good luck for the jackpot size—is unprecedented. Wednesday marked the 44th consecutive drawing without a grand prize winner, setting a new record for the longest dry spell in Powerball history.
The game has seen massive payouts recently. Just this past September, a ticket sold in Missouri and Texas split a staggering $1.787 billion prize. If the current jackpot is claimed, it will mark only the second time in history that back-to-back Powerball jackpots have topped the $1 billion mark.
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Despite the eye-watering numbers, the math remains stubborn. The odds of matching all five white balls plus the red Powerball remain 1 in 292.2 million. While jackpots have exploded in size over the last decade due to game changes and ticket sales, the statistical probability of winning has not budged.
The all-time record still belongs to a single ticket sold in Altadena, California, in 2022, which claimed a $2.04 billion prize.
Powerball tickets cost $2 and are available in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The next chance to break the losing streak happens Saturday at 11 p.m. ET.
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