Powerball ticket-buying frenzy this week as game seeks to create billionaire

By Todd Northrop

This week lottery players across the United States will be pulling out all the stops to try and win Powerball, featuring one of the largest lottery jackpots in history, worth an estimated $1.25 billion.

The Powerball jackpot has been building for a record 43 consecutive drawings since the last winner on September 6, when two tickets sold in Missouri and Texas split a $1.7874 billion jackpot. Both tickets have been claimed: the Missouri winner is a self-described homebody and the Texas portion was claimed by a trust.

Monday night when there were no Powerball jackpot winners, the new jackpot for Wednesday's drawing was estimated at $1.25 billion, with a lump-sum cash option of $572.1 million. More than a half-billion dollars in cash!

For the 7th time in history, a Powerball jackpot has reached $1 billion. It is the 11th-largest lottery jackpot in US history, and the 11th-largest cash option ever offered. (See complete top 25 jackpot rankings for annuity and cash values below.)

Of course, any big winner (or winners) of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot will have to pay taxes on their prize, so the website USA Mega has a handy Powerball Jackpot Analysis page available to calculate the federal and state taxes that would be withheld upon payout. The feature calculates both the initial withholdings and the final tax burden due at the end of the year, and even can show taxes calculated for different IRS filing statuses.

Players looking for a nearby lottery retailer — or that out-of-the-way retailer with a smaller line — are encouraged to use Lottery Places, the only app for iOS, Android, and Windows that can locate the nearest lottery retailers in every jurisdiction that sells Powerball and Mega Millions. The helpful app can locate lottery stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, much of Canada, and the Caribbean.

Some states offer direct online sales, allowing players to bypass the store and purchase tickets from home. Players can see if they can play Powerball online by tapping the link. Depending on the physical location of the person, the link will either provide access via a licensed butler service or the official state lottery itself.

Butler services provide scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, such lottery ticket services were used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.

Players should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries, and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs. For example, the original estimate for Wednesday's drawing was $1.1 billion, but by the time all the proceeds were counted just before draw-time, the jackpot had swelled to $1.1464 billion — an increase of more than $46 million. Likewise, the cash option was estimated at $503.4 million, but was adjusted to $524.7 million based on actual ticket sales.

The winning numbers for Monday, December 15, 2025 were 23, 35, 59, 63, and 68, with Powerball number 2.  The Power Play number was 4.

The Monday Double Play drawing results were 20, 23, 38, 42, and 65, with Powerball number 19. Double Play is a game option currently available in 25 states, plus Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, that lets you play your numbers in a second drawing for $1 per play, with a chance to win up to $10 million in cash. See How to Play Powerball at USA Mega for more information about Double Play.

Even though nobody won the jackpot Monday, 2 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona and 1 from California. (The California winner will claim a prize of $708,443, due to the state's pari-mutuel payout formula.)

None of the second-prize tickets was purchased with the Power Play option, which would have doubled their prize to $2 million if they purchased the $1 option.

When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, a second-prize win is doubled and any other non-jackpot prize is multplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts and the Powerball Double Play Prize Payouts pages at Lottery Post.

The official drawing videos can also be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega.

Power Play is not available in California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered in Power Play is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts. By law, California awards all prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold and the number of tickets that won at each prize level.

Also in the Monday drawing, 57 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000.  Of those tickets, 14 were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $200,000, and 8 of the tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $22,670 this drawing.

Following the Monday drawing, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $103.6 million from its previous amount of $1.1464 billion and the cash value was raised by $47.4 million from its previous amount of $524.7 million.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.

Powerball is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Drawings are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time.  Tickets cost $2 each.

Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com).  The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Wednesday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 11th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 6th-largest Powerball jackpot ever.  Brisk sales will almost certainly push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

1. Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
2. Powerball: $1.7874 billion, Sep. 6, 2025 (41 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Missouri, Texas
3. Powerball: $1.7649 billion, Oct. 11, 2023 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
4. Mega Millions: $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Florida
5. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
6. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
7. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
8. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
9. Powerball: $1.3259 billion, Apr. 6, 2024 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Oregon
10. Mega Millions: $1.269 billion, Dec. 27, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
11. Powerball: $1.25 billion, Dec. 17, 2025 (43 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
12. Mega Millions: $1.128 billion, Mar. 26, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - New Jersey
13. Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
14. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
15. Mega Millions: $983 million, Nov. 14, 2025 (39 rollovers, starting at $50 million) - Georgia
16. Powerball: $842.4 million, Jan. 1, 2024 (34 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
17. Mega Millions: $800 million, Sep. 10, 2024 (27 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Texas
18. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
19. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
20. Powerball: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
21. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
22. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
23. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
24. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
25. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia

The number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 14
• Mega Millions: 11

Top 25 cash value jackpots

Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth.

Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 11th-largest cash value in U.S. history.

1. Powerball: $997.6 million cash, Nov. 7, 2022 ($2.0401 billion annuity) - California
2. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
4. Powerball: $820.6 million cash, Sep. 6, 2025 ($1.7874 billion annuity) - Missouri, Texas
5. Mega Millions: $794.2 million cash, Aug. 8, 2023 ($1.602 billion annuity) - Florida
6. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
7. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
8. Powerball: $774.1 million cash, Oct. 11, 2023 ($1.7649 billion annuity) - California
9. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
10. Powerball: $621 million cash, Apr. 6, 2024 ($1.3259 billion annuity) - Oregon
11. Powerball: $572.1 million cash, Dec. 17, 2025 ($1.25 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
12. Mega Millions: $571.9 million cash, Dec. 27, 2024 ($1.269 billion annuity) - California
13. Powerball: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
14. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
15. Mega Millions: $536.6 million cash, Mar. 26, 2024 ($1.128 billion annuity) - New Jersey
16. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
17. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
18. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
19. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
20. Mega Millions: $453.6 million cash, Nov. 14, 2025 ($983 million annuity) - Georgia
21. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
22. Powerball: $425.2 million cash, Jan. 1, 2024 ($842.4 million annuity) - Michigan
23. Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
24. Mega Millions: $404.2 million cash, Sep. 10, 2024 ($800 million annuity) - Texas
25. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York

The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 15
• Mega Millions: 10