Powerball Jackpot Soars to $775 Million
Tuesday December 2nd 2025Since September 6, the Powerball jackpot has not been won and the jackpot is now over three-quarters of a billion dollars high. Like a recent Mega Millions prize, it’s also the eighth largest jackpot in the history of the game. Exciting!
What’s Happening In Powerball
The most recent Powerball draw took place on Monday, December 1 and revealed numbers 5, 18, 26, 47, 59 and Powerball 1. The Power Play was 3X.
Lottery players were throwing their hats into a prize pool worth $745 million, or a total cash value of $358.3 million. While nobody won the jackpot, there were upward of 784,000 winners. Three lottery players won $1 million each by matching five numbers without the Powerball, and twenty players won $50,000 each by matching four numbers plus the Powerball. There were countless winners of smaller prizes.
In short, there is more than the jackpot to play for in Powerball, but whoever eventually wins the gargantuan jackpot will also have a big decision to make. Do they want to receive the prize in a lump-sum cash payment (more money now, but a smaller slice of the pie) or in an annuity (more money over a longer period of time, paid annually)? You can find out more about that here.
There’s also the tax factor. Federal taxes are generally withheld when it comes to jackpot prizes, no matter whether they’re accepted as cash or annuity. But state tax can be different depending on which state you’re living in, and often results in winners being awarded different amounts. Sometimes far larger amounts than others.
How to Win Powerball
To win Powerball, you must match all five main numbers and the Powerball. The odds of this may seem impossible (1 in 292.2 million), but it’s been done before. On September 6, two lucky winners took home a total of $1.787 billion, splitting the money between them. Plus, why not ask Edwin Castro what he thinks about the odds? In November 2022, a Powerball jackpot grew to a staggering $2 billion+, and was eventually won by Castro. He said he was ‘shocked and ecstatic’ about this outcome.
There have been 37 draws since the September 6 win.
To have a shot at becoming the next big winner, you’ll need to purchase a ticket. Powerball is available in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In some of these locations, you can even order tickets online through lottery couriers such as Jackpot.com.
Next Powerball Drawing
Powerball draws happen every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 pm ET. Enter by visiting a retailer and buying a ticket (if your state sells lottery tickets), or buy your tickets online through a courier (if your state allows it). Check the tickets page for more information.
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