Christmas Day Powerball at $117 million as Mega Millions jackpot jumps to

It’s lottery frenzy this holiday season!

As Mega Millions makes history with another billion-dollar jackpot, the Powerball grand prize isn’t too shabby: $117 million is up for grabs in the Wednesday, Dec. 25, drawing. What’s more, it’s a holiday drawing — Dec. 25, 2024, is Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah.

Will a $2 Powerball ticket — on a double holiday — make you a multimillionaire? As they say in the lottery business, “it could happen to you.”

Earlier this month, the Powerball jackpot reset when a ticket from New York matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the Saturday, Dec. 7 Powerball drawing for $260 million. The jackpot now sits at $117 million with a cash option of $53.4 million for Christmas Day. Check back at 11 p.m. EST for Wednesday’s winning numbers, and we’ll see if there’s a holiday winner, a secondary winner or another rollover.

In case you’re wondering, the winning numbers for the Powerball drawing on Monday, Dec. 23, were 22-42-44-57-64 and the Powerball was 18. Power Play was 2x. Though it resulted in a rollover, it wasn’t all bad news: There was one big winner in Monday’s drawing. A ticket purchased in Michigan matched 5 for a $1 million prize.

Tickets start at $2 a piece. Below is what to know about lottery odds, how long to claim the cash option if you bought a ticket in Florida, and what happens to unclaimed prize money, according to the Florida Lottery.

Good luck!

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Table of Contents

What were winning Powerball numbers for Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, Christmas Day and start of Hanukkah?

Powerball drawings are at 11 p.m. EST Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Check back for Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, winning Powerball numbers. We’ll see if there’s a winner or a rollover.

When is the next Powerball drawing?

The next Powerball lottery drawing will be held on the last weekend of 2024 − and days before the New Year’s holidays − at 11 p.m. EST Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024.

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The last Powerball streak ended Saturday, Dec. 7, when a ticket purchased in New York matched all five numbers plus the Powerball to win $260 million. The jackpot then reset to $20 million on Monday, Dec. 9.

More in U.S.

Below is a recap of Powerball drawings and how long it took to grow from $20 million to the current prize.

Mega Millions lottery jackpot at $1.15 billion after Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, Christmas Eve drawing

After no one matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball in the Friday, Dec. 20, Mega Millions drawing for $862 million, the grand prize jumped to $944 million in a matter of hours. A few days later, however, the total grew to $970 million, according to Mega Millions online. Then on Tuesday evening — Christmas Eve — the jackpot hit $1 billion. It was the 12th time in history that a Mega Millions or Powerball lottery jackpot reached $1 billion. Only once has a lottery jackpot here surpassed $2 billion (see below).

On Tuesday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve’s winning Mega Millions numbers were 11-14-38-45-46 and the Mega Ball was 3. Megaplier was 3x. Though it resulted in a rollover for $1.15 billion for the Friday, Dec. 27, Mega Millions drawing, final ticket sales may push that grand prize higher.

Prizes for Florida Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. To claim a single-payment cash option, a winner has within the first 60 days after the applicable draw date to claim it. Florida Lottery says its scratch-off tickets and Fast Play game prizes “must be claimed within 60 days of the official end-of-game date. Once the applicable time period has elapsed, the related Florida Lottery ticket will expire.”

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What is the average chance of winning Powerball?

Powerball drawings are held at 11 p.m. EST Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. According to Powerball.com, players have a 1 in 292.2 million chance to match all six numbers. Prizes range from $2 to the grand prize jackpot, which varies.

Can Florida lottery winners remain anonymous?

According to Florida Lottery’s website, winners cannot remain anonymous: “Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide records containing information such as the winner’s name, city of residence; game won, date won, and amount won to any third party who requests the information.”

However, the site states, the “names of lottery winners claiming prizes of $250,000 or greater will be temporarily exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed, unless otherwise waived by the winner.”

Lottery experts and lawyers have said there are ways to remain anonymous if you win.

Who won, how long did it take to win Powerball, Mega Millions and those billion-dollar jackpots?

What are the Top 10 biggest Powerball jackpots in history?

Here are the Top 10 Powerball jackpots in the history of the game as of Dec. 25, 2024, which is Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah:

10. $731.1 million — Jan. 20, 2021; Maryland
9. $754.6 million — Feb. 6, 2023; Washington
8. $758.7 million — Aug. 23, 2017; Massachusetts
7. $768.4 million — March 27, 2019; Wisconsin
4. $1.33 billion — April 6, 2024; Oregon

When did lotto jackpots hit $1 billion or more for Mega Millions and Powerball? What are the biggest lottery jackpots in US history?

As of Dec. 25, 2024, there have been 12 lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed $1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed $2 billion. These are the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.

$1.58 billion Mega Millions prize, Aug. 8, 2023, Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida
$1.537 billion Mega Millions prize, Oct. 23, 2018, won by an anonymous player in South Carolina
$1.348 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 13, 2023, LaKoma Island Investments, LLC, with the ticket purchased in Lebanon, Maine
$1.337 billion Mega Millions prize, July 29, 2022, won by an anonymous partnership with a ticket purchased in Des Plaines, Illinois
$1.326 billion Powerball prize, April 6, 2024, Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon
$1.15 billion Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, winner TBD
$1.128 billion Mega Millions prize, March 26, 2024, won by an anonymous winner in New Jersey with the ticket purchased at ShopRite Liquor No. 781 in Neptune Township, New Jersey
$1.08 billion Powerball prize, July 19, 2023, Yanira Alvarez of California
$1.050 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 22, 2021, won by the Wolverine FLL Club of Oakland County, Michigan

(This story will be updated to add new information.)

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Powerball, Mega Millions winning numbers for Christmas 2024 holidays

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