Powerball could deliver a life-changing gift to a lottery player this Christmas. The jackpot now stands at an estimated $638 million for the next drawing on Christmas night. The jackpot has an estimated cash value of $321.1 million.
According to the lottery, historically there have been only three Powerball jackpots won on Christmas. The last time this occurred was ten years ago, on Dec. 25, 2013, when a Powerball player in Missouri won a $71.5 million jackpot.
This is the fourth Powerball jackpot to exceed half a billion dollars this calendar year. The Powerball jackpot was previously won on Oct. 11 when a ticket in California won a $1.765 billion grand prize. Since then, there have been 31 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner.
If a player wins the Powerball jackpot on Christmas, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $638 million or a lump sum payment estimated at $321.1 million. Both prize options are before taxes. If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5-percent each year.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than half of all proceeds from the sale of a Powerball ticket remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold. Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EST from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Powerball drawings are also live streamed on Powerball.com.
The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
2023 Powerball Jackpots
- Feb. 6, 2023 – $754.6 million – WA
- March 4, 2023 – $162.2 million – VA
- April 19, 2023 – $252.6 million – OH
- July 19, 2023 – $1.08 billion – CA
- Oct. 11, 2023 – $1.765 billion – CA
Top 10 Powerball Jackpots
- $2.04 Billion – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
- $1.765 Billion – Oct. 11, 2023 – CA
- $1.586 Billion – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
- $1.08 Billion – July 19, 2023 – CA
- $768.4 Million – March 27, 2019 – WI
- $758.7 Million – Aug. 23, 2017 – MA
- $754.6 Million – Feb. 6, 2023 – WA
- $731.1 Million – Jan. 20, 2021 – MD
- $699.8 Million – Oct. 4, 2021 – CA
- $687.8 Million – Oct. 27, 2018 – IA, NY
