Christmas Powerball Jackpot Hits a Whopping $638 Million; Winner to Be Announced on Christmas Night
The Christmas Powerball jackpot has soared to $638 million with a cash value of $321.1 million which marks a historic moment. Shoppers still have time till Monday at 9:59 PM as the winners will be announced at 11:00 PM on Christmas night. The probability of winning the Powerball jackpots on Christmas is pretty minute and intense but in 2013, a player from Missouri claimed a $71.5 million jackpot. It's a coincidence this time that the Powerball announcement is going to be at Christmas night and the winner is going to have a pretty lucky and merry Christmas.
What is a Powerball Lottery game?
Powerball, the massive lottery game played in the whole of America is offered by 45 states and supervised by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). It has huge jackpot games and drawings of winners are held biweekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays and if there are no winners then the price keeps adding up. The Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. EST, at the Florida Lottery's headquarters in Tallahassee. To play Powerball, the players have to spend $2 per play and then select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls and 1 to 26 for the red ones. You can either choose your lucky numbers or let the lottery pick up random ones.
Increase your win through the Power Play option
When you play the Powerball lottery, you can increase your winnings by two, three, four, five, or even ten times through the Power Play option. To use Power Play, you just have to pay an extra $1 per play. If you win a prize (except for the main jackpot) and have used Power Play, your prize money can be multiplied up to 10 times. However, this special multiplier is available only when the jackpot is $150 million or less. All the prizes, except for the main jackpot, have fixed cash amounts. It's important to note that in California, the amount of prize money depends on how many tickets are sold and the number of winners. So, playing Powerball with Power Play can give you a chance to boost your winnings.
Here are some nine ways and combinations through which you can win some amount for yourself if not the jackpot.
· 5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize
· 5 white balls = $1 million
· 4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000
· 4 white balls = $100
· 3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100
· 3 white balls = $7
· 2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7
· 1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4
· 1 red Powerball = $4
Getting the Powerball jackpot tickets
Players who wish to play and win the Powerball jackpot can purchase tickets from gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, and airport terminals and can even buy them online. The chances of winning the big Powerball jackpot are pretty tough i.e. there's only a one in 292 million chance but still people go for it and at least win some prizes.
Some of the largest played and won Powerball jackpots include:
- $2.04 billion from one winning ticket in California in November 2022
- $1.76 billion from one winning ticket in California in October 2023
- $1.586 billion from three winning tickets in California, Florida, and Tennessee in January 2016
- $1.08 billion from one winning ticket in California in July 2023
- $768.4 million from one winning ticket in Wisconsin in March 2019
| Getty Images | Photo by Joe Raedle
The last Powerball jackpot lottery was won on October 11 and the player took the prize of $1.765 billion. Players are keeping their fingers crossed as the next winners' announcement will be done on Christmas night.