‘Ultimate Windfall’ on Offer As Powerball Hits $1.5 Billion
Thursday December 18th 2025Powerball’s record-breaking jackpot run continued further into the holiday season as another draw came and went without a winner on Wednesday night, pushing the grand prize up to $1.5 billion.
The winning numbers for December 17th were 25, 33, 53, 62 and 66, with a Powerball of 17. The Power Play was 4X, quadrupling prize amounts for hundreds of thousands of players who added the multiplier option.
While nobody matched all the numbers, there were more than 3.3 million prizes paid out in total. Six players - three from New York and one each from Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Tennessee - matched all five white balls to win $1 million. Two more ticket holders, from Arizona and Massachusetts, also matched five main numbers, and their payouts were increased to $2 million as they had added Power Play.
Go to the Powerball Numbers page to see full draw details, including the results of Wednesday’s Double Play draw.
It was the 44th consecutive jackpot roll (the longest in the game’s history), and the grand prize now ranks as the fifth-largest of all time for Powerball. It is expected to jump from $1.26 billion to $1.5 billion for Saturday night’s drawing.
“This jackpot is set to deliver the ultimate windfall,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO. “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.”
Biggest Powerball Wins
One more roll on Saturday would push the jackpot closer towards record territory, and there could even be $2 billion up for grabs for only the second time in Powerball history by the time Christmas arrives.
The only previous time the jackpot hit $2 billion was back in November 2022, when Edwin Castro from Altadena in California eventually emerged as the sole winner. He declared himself ‘shocked and ecstatic’ to land $2.04 billion.
Another long jackpot run earlier this year almost created a new record, only for two tickets to match all the numbers on September 6th and split a prize worth $1.787 billion. Both parts of the jackpot have already been claimed.
Third on the list is a $1.76 billion payout that went to a group of winners from California represented by Theodorus Struyck. Go to the main Powerball page to find out more about the top 10 winners.
There’s no limit to how high the jackpot can go, so it could potentially reach $2 billion, $3 billion or even beyond. However, ticket sales increase so much when the jackpot is at this level that far more of the possible winning combinations are in play, making it more likely that someone will win soon.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to play and win while the jackpot is high. Pick up a ticket from your local retailer or, depending on where you live, order your tickets online.
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