The winning numbers have been drawn for the much-hyped $1.25 billion Powerball jackpot — one of the richest lottery prizes ever offered in the United States — but the drawing ended without a grand prize winner, sending the jackpot soaring even higher for the next game.

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Wednesday night’s winning numbers for the estimated $1.25 billion jackpot were 25, 33, 53, 62 and 66, with a red Powerball of 17. Early results from lottery officials indicated that no ticket matched all six numbers, allowing the jackpot to roll over and surge to an estimated $1.5 billion for Saturday’s drawing.

A Historic Run Reaches $1.25 Billion

The $1.25 billion prize capped a remarkable run of drawings this December, as Powerball rolled over again and again without a jackpot winner. According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, Wednesday’s drawing was the 44th consecutive one without a grand prize hit, a record streak for the game’s current jackpot cycle.

The jackpot initially leapt to an estimated $1.25 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers in Monday night’s drawing, when the grand prize stood at roughly $1.14 billion. The winning numbers that evening were 23, 35, 59, 63 and 68 with a Powerball of 2, again producing no jackpot winner and setting the stage for Wednesday’s $1.25 billion draw.

Powerball’s own officials confirmed that the jackpot for Wednesday, December 17, had climbed to an estimated $1.25 billion, with a cash value of about $572.1 million before taxes. That made it the second-largest Powerball jackpot of 2025, trailing only the $1.787 billion prize shared by winners in Missouri and Texas in September.

No Jackpot Winner — But Plenty of Millionaires

While no ticket matched all six numbers for the $1.25 billion prize, the drawing still minted new millionaires across the country. Lottery officials reported that eight tickets in various states won $1 million or more in Wednesday’s game by matching the five white balls, with some boosted to $2 million by the Power Play option.

In Wednesday’s draw, two tickets sold in Arizona and Massachusetts each claimed $2 million by matching all five white numbers with the Power Play multiplier active, while multiple others across states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee won $1 million before taxes for matching the five main balls.

These secondary prizes underscore how a large jackpot tends to cascade cash down the prize structure. In Connecticut alone, more than 38,000 tickets won at least some amount of money in the $1.25 billion drawing, including one that hit the $1 million mark by matching all five white balls.

Jackpot Jumps to $1.5 Billion After Drawing

Because no ticket matched all six winning numbers on Wednesday, the jackpot immediately rolled over. Powerball officials now estimate that Saturday night’s prize will reach $1.5 billion, with a lump-sum cash option of about $686.5 million before federal and any applicable state taxes.

If those projections hold, the next drawing will be among the five largest jackpots in Powerball history and one of the biggest in U.S. lottery history overall. Only a handful of Powerball jackpots have ever topped the $1.5 billion mark, including the record $2.04 billion prize won by a single ticket in California in November 2022.

A Rare Back-to-Back Billion-Dollar Streak

The current run is notable not just for its size but for its timing. Powerball officials say this is only the second time the game has produced back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion. The first occurred in 2023, when a $1.08 billion jackpot in July was followed by a $1.765 billion prize in October, both won in California.

In 2025, players already witnessed one enormous jackpot: a $1.787 billion Powerball prize hit on September 6 by tickets in Missouri and Texas. The fact that the game has now climbed back past $1 billion again before year’s end underscores how swiftly jackpots can snowball when there is a long streak without a winner.

Heading into Wednesday’s drawing, Powerball officials noted that this $1.25 billion pot ranked among the top ten jackpots in the game’s history, and the 12th-largest lottery prize ever offered in the United States. It also added to a broader trend: many of the largest U.S. lottery jackpots have been drawn in just the past few years.

Long Odds, Big Dreams

For all the attention drawn by a billion-dollar top prize, the odds facing players remain daunting. The chances of winning any Powerball prize are about 1 in 24.9, but the odds of hitting the jackpot are roughly 1 in 292.2 million. Statistically, a single individual is far more likely to be struck by lightning in their lifetime than to claim the top prize.

Still, the magnitude of the jackpot has driven intense interest nationwide. Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with an extra $1 offering players the optional Power Play feature that can multiply non-jackpot winnings.

For those few who beat the long odds, winners can choose between a lump-sum cash payment or an annuity that spreads the full advertised jackpot over 30 years. In the current run, a $1.25 billion annuity would be paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual installments that increase by 5% each year, while the cash option — around $572.1 million for the $1.25 billion jackpot — offers a smaller but immediate payout before taxes.

Billions for Players — and for Public Programs

Powerball’s billion-dollar jackpots don’t just reflect demand from hopeful players; they also translate into significant revenue for public programs. More than half of all proceeds from Powerball ticket sales stay in the jurisdiction where the ticket is sold, helping fund state-backed causes such as education, infrastructure and public safety. Since Powerball’s first drawing in 1992, the game has generated more than $37 billion for these types of initiatives nationwide.

At the same time, lottery officials and responsible-gambling advocates stress moderation, especially when jackpots swell. They urge players to view tickets as entertainment, not as an investment strategy, and to seek help if gambling stops being fun. The National Problem Gambling Helpline, at 1-800-GAMBLER, offers confidential support and referrals to counseling and other services for those who may be at risk.

What Happens Next

With the $1.25 billion drawing now in the books and no jackpot claimant, all eyes turn to Saturday night. The next Powerball drawing is scheduled for 10:59 p.m. Eastern, with tickets available up to shortly before the numbers are pulled in most participating states. Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and are broadcast live from the Florida Lottery’s studio in Tallahassee, as well as streamed online.

For now, the historic $1.25 billion drawing will be remembered not for a single life-changing ticket, but for the wave of anticipation it generated — and for pushing the Powerball jackpot even closer to the upper reaches of the record books. Whether the next drawing finally produces a winner or extends this unprecedented streak, millions of Americans will be watching those numbers, dreaming of what might be possible if all six line up just right.