If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas present to yourself, the Powerball lottery is offering quite the option. Wednesday night's drawing sits at $1.7 billion, making it the fourth-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history and the second-largest Powerball drawing of 2025 so far.
A Historic Jackpot Run
The drawing scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 24 at 10:59 p.m. ET represents something of a milestone. This will be the 47th consecutive drawing in the current jackpot cycle, setting a new Powerball record for the most drawings without a winner. The last time someone actually won the Powerball was back on Sept. 6, when two winners split a $1.787 billion jackpot.
Those unclaimed numbers from Sunday's Dec. 22 drawing were 3, 18, 36, 41, 54, with 7 as the Powerball. While nobody matched all six numbers for the grand prize, nine tickets did match all five regular balls, earning their holders $1 million each. Not too shabby for a consolation prize.
The mechanics are straightforward enough: tickets cost $2 and are available in more than 40 U.S. states. Players pick five numbers between 1 and 69, plus one Powerball number from 1 to 26. Match all six balls in the drawing, and the jackpot is yours. Your odds of doing that? A cool 1 in 292.2 million. The overall odds of winning any prize are considerably better at 1 in 24.9.
Powerball drawings happen three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. When nobody wins, the jackpot rolls over and grows for the next drawing, which explains how we got to this eye-popping $1.7 billion figure.
A Rare Christmas Winner?
A Wednesday winner would join some pretty exclusive company. Only one other Powerball jackpot has been claimed on Christmas Eve, way back in 2011. Christmas Day has seen slightly more action, with four winners over the years in 1996, 2002, 2010, and 2013.
"Much like the holidays, Powerball is a game that brings people together to dream big and hope for a brighter future," said Powerball Product Group Chair Matt Strawn. "We hope this growing jackpot inspires excitement and joy, and most importantly, good will to all."
The Reality of Lottery Winnings
Here's where the numbers get interesting. That $1.7 billion figure is the annuitized amount, paid out over 29 years in 30 installments. One payment comes immediately, and the remaining 29 annual payments increase by 5% each year to account for inflation.
Most winners, however, take the lump sum cash option. For this jackpot, that immediate payout would be $781.3 million. Before you start planning what to do with all that money, remember that Uncle Sam wants his cut.
The IRS imposes a mandatory 24% withholding on lottery winnings over $5,000. That brings the actual take-home amount down to approximately $593.8 million after federal taxes. And that's just federal withholding. Winners are also on the hook for additional federal taxes that could push the top marginal rate higher, plus state taxes depending on where they live.
Financial advisors generally recommend that winners consult with tax and wealth management professionals before deciding between the lump sum and annuity options. The right choice depends on individual circumstances, investment opportunities, and tax planning strategies.
How This Jackpot Stacks Up
At $1.7 billion, Wednesday's jackpot currently ranks fourth on the all-time U.S. lottery list. If nobody wins and the jackpot continues growing, it could climb even higher. Here's how the top ten largest jackpots look:
- $2.04 billion: Powerball, November 2022, one winner
- $1.787 billion: Powerball, September 2025, two winners
- $1.765 billion: Powerball, October 2023, one winner
- $1.70 billion: Powerball, current drawing
- $1.602 billion: Mega Millions, August 2023, one winner
- $1.586 billion: Powerball, January 2016, three winners
- $1.537 billion: Mega Millions, October 2018, one winner
- $1.348 billion: Mega Millions, January 2023, one winner
- $1.337 billion: Mega Millions, July 2022, one winner
- $1.326 billion: Powerball, April 2024, one winner
The record-holder remains that November 2022 Powerball drawing at $2.04 billion, which went to a single winner. This current jackpot would need to grow substantially to threaten that top spot, but given that it's already broken the record for consecutive drawings, anything seems possible.