If you missed the chance to purchase a Powerball ticket for the recent drawing, there's still an opportunity to participate. The jackpot has now escalated to a staggering $1.5 billion, with a cash option of $686.5 million, after no one claimed the grand prize on Wednesday, December 17. This amount ranks as the fifth-highest in Powerball's records.
Record-Breaking Jackpot Cycle
Lottery officials note that the upcoming drawing on Saturday, December 20, will be the 45th in this current jackpot sequence, setting a new record for the most drawings within a single cycle. This marks the second instance this year that the Powerball prize has surpassed the $1 billion threshold.
Recent High-Value Jackpots
Earlier this fall, the jackpot neared similar heights, reaching $1.787 billion for the September 6 drawing. That prize, the second-largest ever, was split between winning tickets from Missouri and Texas. In 2023, two billion-dollar jackpots were awarded: $1.08 billion on July 19 and $1.76 billion on October 11, both won by players in California.
Winning Numbers from December 17
The numbers drawn on Wednesday, December 17, were 25-33-53-62-66, with the Powerball at 17 and a Power Play multiplier of 4X. While no one won the grand prize, there was a $2 million winner from Arizona and Massachusetts who matched five numbers plus the Power Play. Additionally, three $1 million winners were reported in New York, with one each in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Officials confirmed 14 tickets won $200,000 and 72 tickets won $50,000.
Upcoming Drawing Details
The next Powerball drawing is set for Saturday, December 20, at 10:59 p.m. ET. Ticket purchase deadlines vary by state: in Delaware, sales close at 9:45 p.m. ET, while in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the cutoff is 9:59 p.m. ET. Drawings occur three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at the same time.
Ticket Information and Odds
Each Powerball play costs $2. Players select five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26, either manually or via quick pick. There are nine ways to win, with prizes ranging from $4 for matching just the Powerball to the grand prize for matching all numbers. The Power Play option, available for an extra $1, can multiply non-jackpot winnings up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.
The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292,201,338, while the overall chance of winning any prize is 1 in 24.87. In California, prizes are pari-mutuel, meaning they depend on sales and the number of winners.
Largest Powerball Jackpots
Here are the top Powerball jackpots to date:
$2.04 billion – November 7, 2022 – California
$1.787 billion – September 6, 2025 – Missouri, Texas
$1.765 billion – October 11, 2023 – California
$1.586 billion – January 13, 2016 – California, Florida, Tennessee
$1.5 billion – December 20, 2025 – To be determined
