The Powerball jackpot continues to climb after no one matched all six numbers in the Christmas Day drawing. With no winner on December 25th, the top prize has rolled to a massive $685 million for the next drawing on Tuesday, December 27th.
Jackpot Rises for 36th Straight Time
This marks the 36th consecutive Powerball drawing without a grand prize winner. The jackpot started at $20 million for the September 21st drawing and has grown rapidly over the last three months to its current amount.
At $685 million, this Powerball jackpot ranks as the sixth-largest in U.S. lottery history and marks one of the biggest holiday prizes ever offered. Lottery officials report strong ticket sales ahead of the next drawing, which will likely push the jackpot even higher before the numbers are pulled on Tuesday night.
Two Powerball players in Missouri won $1 million prizes in separate drawings over the holiday weekend by matching all five white balls. But no one could match the red Powerball or take home the growing grand prize.
Next Jackpot Could Crack Top 5 All-Time
If there isn’t a jackpot winner on Tuesday, lottery experts project the prize could jump to $800 million or more for the Saturday night drawing on December 31st—making it one of the top 5 largest jackpots ever.
The current record holder is a $2.04 billion Powerball prize won by a single ticket in California last November. Here’s a look at the biggest jackpots in U.S. lottery history:
| Rank | Date | Game | Jackpot | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 7, 2022 | Powerball | $2.04 billion | California |
| 2 | Jan 13, 2022 | Mega Millions | $1.337 billion | Illinois |
| 3 | July 29, 2022 | Mega Millions | $1.28 billion | Illinois |
| 4 | Jan 5, 2022 | Powerball | $731.1 million | Maryland |
| 5 | Nov 8, 2022 | Powerball | $700 million | California |
A surge of interest in the Powerball game helped drive last November’s record $2 billion jackpot, which was hit on the 40th drawing roll. Now we are approaching a similar number of rolls with the current growing prize still out there waiting to be won.
Lottery officials expect another wave of ticket sales if the pot crosses $800 million ahead of New Year’s Eve. That much money would certainly make for quite a holiday celebration for the lucky sole winner.
Recent Wins Hint at Texas Powerball Luck
While the grand prize continues increasing, some other sizable Powerball wins did hit in recent drawings beyond the $1 million Missouri prizes.
On Christmas night, a $50,000 Powerball ticket sold in San Antonio, Texas matched four white balls and the red Powerball to win a nice stocking stuffer payout. According to lottery officials, players in Texas have had tremendous luck in Powerball over the years:
- Over $3.8 billion in jackpot prizes have been won by Texans, including two record $1 billion+ jackpots
- 25 Powerball jackpot prizes have been won in the state since 1992
- Texas is tied with Indiana for the second most Powerball jackpot wins, trailing only Missouri’s 31
Given their past good fortune, perhaps the Lone Star State will produce the next grand prize winner as well.
A $150,000 winning Powerball ticket from the Monday drawing was sold at a Weis Market store in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. One lucky player beat odds of 1 in over 575,000 to match four white balls plus the Powerball. But the Christmas weekend also produced two $1 million winners and thirteen winners of $50,000 or more across the Powerball states.
Changes Lead to Bigger Jackpots, Better Odds
Recent changes to the Powerball game implemented over the last several years have resulted in fewer regular jackpot wins and bigger growing prizes when the top prize rolls over multiple times.
Powerball tickets now cost $2 per play, up from the original $1 price tag. Ticket revenues help fund larger starting jackpots and bigger prizes on the game’s prize payment schedule.
Additionally, overall odds of winning any prize improved from 1 in almost 32 to 1 in just above 24. The grand prize odds decreased slightly but are still around 1 in 292 million. Good luck finding another way to obtain life-changing wealth with odds anywhere close to that!
While the huge jackpots rightfully get all the publicity, thousands of smaller prizes are won in every Powerball drawing. Plenty of players end up with payouts that could fund home improvements, student loans, travel, or other personal dreams.
Will Lightning Strike Twice for California?
Just twelve weeks ago, a single Powerball ticket purchased in Altadena, California landed that night’s $2.04 billion jackpot prize. The lucky player chose to take the lump sum cash option and netted nearly $1.3 billion after taxes.
Will the Golden State produce another billion-dollar winner on the West Coast? Perhaps a player in Texas or one of the other 43 participating Powerball states rises to the occasion this time? Even a smaller jackpot prize of $40 or $50 million is pretty life altering.
The possibilities are fun to think about with the Powerball jackpot at roll number 36. But come Tuesday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time, only one player—if any at all—will join the ranks of the lottery’s biggest winners list.
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play. Players select five numbers between 1-69 for the white balls and one number from 1-26 for the red Powerball. Or players can opt for a Quick Pick ticket with randomly selected numbers. For an additional cost per play, the Power Play add-on can multiply non-jackpot prizes.
Will you take your shot at Powerball fortune? Ticket sales will continue until cut-off times on Tuesday night—good luck and happy playing!
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
