Powerball at $145 million for weekend before New Year’s Eve after $1.269

It’s lottery frenzy this holiday season! Will a $2 Powerball ticket on the last Saturday of 2024 turn someone into a multimillionaire?

As they say in the lottery business, “it could happen to you.”

For example, one ticket in California correctly matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball in the $1.22 billion Mega Millions drawing for Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. Final ticket sales pushed the grand total to $1.26 billion (see below). The Mega Millions jackpot now resets to $20 million for Tuesday, Dec. 31, or New Year’s Eve.

But before then … there’s Powerball for $145 million and a cash option of $65.7 million, according to its site. Check back at 11 p.m. EST for Saturday, Dec. 28, Powerball numbers. We’ll see if there’s a winner, a Power Play winner or another rollover.

In case you’re wondering about the Wednesday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day Powerball drawing, winning numbers were 15-26-27-30-35 and the Powerball was 3. Power Play was 3x.

Though it resulted in a rollover, there was one big winner in the Christmas Day Powerball drawing. A ticket purchased in New Jersey matched 5 plus the Power Play for a $2 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 Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024?

Powerball drawings are at 11 p.m. EST Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Check back after 11 p.m. EST Saturday, Dec. 28, for winning Mega Millions numbers. We’ll see if there’s a winner, a secondary winner or a rollover.

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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.

When is the next Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 11 p.m. EST every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, including holidays. The next Powerball drawing will be held Monday, Dec. 30, a day before New Year’s Eve 2024. The first Powerball drawing of the new year will be held Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, or New Year’s Day.

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. 28, 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. 28, 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
$1.22 billion Mega Millions, Dec. 28, 2024, California 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 numbers Saturday, Dec. 28, after $1.22 billion Mega Millions

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Powerball at $145 million for weekend before New Year’s Eve after $1.269 billion Mega Millions win