US Powerball jackpot could be someone's billion-dollar Christmas present

December 23, 2025 9:17 AM EST

A person holds tickets for the $1.25 billion jackpot in the Powerball lottery drawing in New York City, U.S. December 17, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Dec 23 (Reuters) - ⁠The U.S. ⁠Powerball ‍jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.7 billion ahead of the Christmas ‍Eve drawing on Wednesday night, making ​it among the largest lottery drawings in ​American history.

No one picked Monday night's winning number combination of 3, 18, 36, 41, 54 ​and Powerball number 7. But nationwide, nine tickets won $1 million prizes ​on Monday.

Wednesday's winner could get an annuitized payout of $1.7 ‌billion paid over 29 years or a cash payout of $781.3 million ​after taxes. This ⁠is the fourth highest jackpot in the lottery's history.

The drawing ‌is set for 10:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday (0359 GMT Thursday), with the odds ‌of winning the jackpot 1 in 292.2 ‌million.

The biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history was the $2.04 billion Powerball game and was won ‍in California in 2022.

Large jackpots tend to bolster ticket sales, ⁠boosting revenue for state lottery funds that support education and other public spending.

(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )



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