The mammoth Powerball jackpot has swelled to an eye-watering $1.5 billion after Wednesday night's draw failed to produce a top-prize winner. The windfall, now up for grabs in the next drawing on Saturday, 20 December 2025, offers a potential financial reprieve just before the holidays.
A Historic Jackpot Up for Grabs
This colossal sum marks the fifth-largest jackpot in Powerball history and the seventh-largest ever recorded across all United States lottery games. Should a single winner opt for the cash lump sum, they would take home approximately $572.1 million before taxes. Lottery winnings face significant taxation, with an automatic 37 percent federal levy, and potential state taxes ranging from 2.9 to 10.9 percent.
The most recent numbers drawn on Wednesday were 25, 33, 53, 62, and 66, with a red Powerball of 17 and a 4x Power Play multiplier. While the jackpot eluded players, there were still substantial wins. Two tickets, sold in Arizona and Massachusetts, matched five numbers plus the Power Play, netting $2 million each. Furthermore, six tickets secured $1 million prizes for matching five numbers; these were sold in New York (three), Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
The Elusive Odds of a Life-Changing Win
The jackpot has been rolling over since the last win on 6 September, spanning 44 consecutive draws without a top-tier winner. This streak is less about a lack of participation and more about the game's astronomical odds. The chance of any single ticket hitting the Powerball jackpot is a minuscule 1 in 292.2 million.
To contextualise these daunting odds, a person is statistically far more likely to be struck by lightning twice (1 in 19 million) or even be eaten by a shark (1 in 264 million). This mathematical reality allows the prize pool to balloon for weeks, creating the record-breaking sums that capture global attention.
Chasing Billion-Dollar Dreams
The upcoming $1.5 billion draw continues a trend of historic lottery payouts. In 2016, a similar jackpot was split three ways. More recently, a $1.765 billion prize was won in California in 2023, and a $1.787 billion jackpot was shared by winners in Missouri and Texas in September of this year. The all-time record remains a $2 billion Powerball prize claimed in California in 2022.
The next opportunity to win this life-altering fortune is Saturday, 20 December, at 10:59 pm ET. The drawing will be streamed live on the official Powerball website, Powerball.com, as hopefuls across the nation await to see if the lengthy winless streak will finally end.
