Powerball® could deliver the ultimate 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.
For shoppers looking for last-minute stocking stuffers or gifts for the adults on their list, ticket sale cut-off times vary by jurisdiction, but typically occur 1-2 hours before the scheduled draw time of 10:59 p.m. EST on Monday.
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 could be a very Merry Christmas for a Powerball player!” said Drew Svitko, Powerball Product Group Chair and Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director. “It’s not often that we have a Powerball drawing coincide with the Christmas holiday and with a jackpot of this magnitude.
“While a jackpot of this size can spice up the Christmas spirit, we kindly remind our Powerball players to play responsibly and that it only takes one ticket to win big.”
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.
Despite there being no jackpot winner in last night’s Powerball drawing, three tickets nationwide won prizes worth $1 million or more. Two tickets, sold in Arizona and Missouri, matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. A ticket in Nebraska matched all five white balls and increased its winnings to $2 million, because the player included the Power Play® feature on the ticket for an additional $1 per play.
The winning numbers in the Saturday, Dec. 23 Powerball drawing were white balls 9, 14, 17, 18, 53 and red Powerball 6.
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
