There’s still a chance to cash in for the holidays!
The Powerball jackpot has surged to a monstrous $1.5 billion — the fifth-largest in the game’s history —ahead of the holidays after no ticket matched all six winning numbers drawn on Wednesday night.
The winning numbers for the estimated $1.27 billion jackpot were 25, 33, 53, 62 and 66, with red Powerball 17.
Saturday’s drawing will be the 45th of the current jackpot run, breaking a game record for the most drawings in a single cycle, according to Powerball officials.
“This jackpot is set to deliver the ultimate windfall,” Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn said.
“The jackpot grows with every $2 ticket sold, and a portion of each ticket supports local public programs and services. We encourage everyone to have fun and play responsibly.”
The jackpot carries an estimated total of $1.5 billion — a cash value of $686.5 million — for the upcoming drawing.
Six ticket holders struck the $1 million Match 5 prize for correctly picking the five white balls, including three people in New York.
The million-dollar tickets were sold at a trio of convenience stores in Elmont, Newburgh and Astoria, Queens.
The remaining tickets were sold in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Two additional tickets sold in Arizona and Massachusetts matched all five white balls, and the Power Play multiplier doubled their prizes from $1 million to $2 million each.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on Sept. 6, when two winners in Missouri and Texas split a staggering $1.787 billion prize — only the second time the game has produced back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion.
The only other occurrence came in 2023, when California saw back-to-back jackpots of $1.08 billion in July and $1.765 billion in October.
Players hoping for a massive payday before Christmas face steep odds of just 1 in 292.2 million.
However, the odds of winning any prize are much higher, at about 1 in 24.9.
If won, Saturday’s drawing would mark the fifth-largest jackpot in Powerball history.
The record $2.04 billion jackpot was claimed by California resident Edwin Castro in November 2022.
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