Who won Monday’s Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.1 billion?
Well, no one. So if you didn’t get a ticket, you still have a chance to win big as the grand prize has now surged to $1.25 billion.
The winning numbers drawn on Dec. 15 were: 23, 35, 59, 63, 68 and a Powerball of 2. The Power Play multiplier is 4x.
While no one matched all five numbers and the Powerball, two $1 million prizes were won by ticket holders in Arizona and California after they matched five numbers.
The $1.25 billion jackpot for the next drawing on Wednesday, Dec. 17, ranks as the sixth-largest since the lottery game began in 1992. The jackpot is for a sole winner who chose to receive the winnings through an annuity option, paid over 30 years. Winners almost always opt for the cash option, which would be $572.1 million.
The prize is subject to taxes, which includes an automatic withholding tax of 24% levied against the winnings, and another 13% in federal taxes when you file your 2025 return.
There are also state taxes in some jurisdictions, which range from 2.9% to 10.9% depending on the state you live in. But if you’re lucky enough to live in California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington or Wyoming, you won’t pay taxes on your winnings.
This is the second time this year — and just the seventh in the lottery game’s history — that the Powerball jackpot has reached the $1 billion mark. In early September, a $1.787 billion grand prize was shared between winning tickets in Missouri and Texas.
“Powerball has only seen back-to-back to billion-dollar jackpots twice, and this one has arrived just in time for the holidays,” said Matt Strawn, Iowa Lottery CEO and Powerball Product Group Chair. “While it’s exciting to see the jackpot climb to this level, please remember to play responsibly. A single $2 ticket gives you a chance to win, while also supporting good causes in your community.”
No one has won Powerball’s jackpot since Sept. 6, a stretch of 43 consecutive drawings without anyone matching the game’s six numbers. That sets a Powerball record for the longest run without a grand prize awarded. The previous record run for a single jackpot cycle was 42 drawings.
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The reason for the jackpot drought is simple: The odds of winning the top prize are miserable, at 1 in 292.2 million. It’s those odds that create the large jackpots that are designed to attract attention and drive up sales.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are three drawings per week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays — and tickets cost $2 each. Adding the Power Play option, which can multiply winnings by two, three, four, five or 10 times, to a ticket costs an extra $1.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever awarded was in 2022 when a ticket in California won a $2.04 billion grand prize.
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