The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.25 billion for Wednesday night’s drawing. The cash option is $572.1 million, before taxes.
It is the second-largest Powerball jackpot this year and only the second time in game history the lottery has produced back-to-back billion-dollar prizes.
The jackpot rolled again after no ticket matched all six numbers in Monday’s drawing. The numbers were 23, 35, 59, 63, 68, with a Powerball of 2 and a Power Play of 4.
Several players still won big. Two tickets sold in Arizona and California matched all five white balls to win $1 million each. Another 43 tickets won $50,000, and 14 tickets won $200,000.
Lottery officials urge players to check tickets carefully.
“This jackpot arrived just in time for the holidays,” said Matt Strawn, CEO of the Iowa Lottery and Powerball Product Group chair.
Wednesday’s drawing will be the 44th in this jackpot run, the longest in Powerball history. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The drawing is set for 10:59 p.m. ET.
Where the biggest jackpots are won
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
California stands out in Powerball history. The largest jackpot ever, $2.04 billion, was won there in November 2022. California players also won both back-to-back billion-dollar jackpots in 2023 and have claimed more billion-dollar Powerball prizes than any other state. Other massive jackpots have been split by winners in states including Missouri, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and Oregon.
This month, Gov. Brian Kemp highlighted the broader impact of lottery sales in Georgia. Kemp said the Georgia Lottery Corporation has raised more than $30 billion for education since 1993.
Those funds support Georgia Pre-K and help students attend college through the HOPE Scholarship and Grant programs.
