Powerball’s $1.7 billion Christmas Eve jackpot is the longest mega-prize without a winner yet
Powerball’s massive $1.7 billion jackpot has now stretched longer than any other mega-prize without a winner, yet lottery analysts say the odds are essentially even that a winning ticket will be sold from this point forward.
The prize has already gone through five drawings at or above the $1 billion mark since reaching that level on Monday, with the sixth drawing set for Christmas Eve on Wednesday night.
This makes it the longest-running billion-dollar-plus jackpot without a payout. The previous record was set in October 2023, when a similar-sized prize was finally claimed after five drawings above the billion-dollar threshold.
In comparison, the $1.787 billion jackpot in September was won just three drawings after crossing $1 billion. The largest Powerball prize ever — $2.04 billion in 2022 — also found a winner after only three drawings at that level.
Meanwhile, the other two billion-dollar Powerball jackpots, in 2016 and 2023, were both claimed in the very first drawing after surpassing $1 billion.
Experts stress that the current streak is purely a matter of chance. Once a jackpot reaches $1 billion, ticket sales explode, pushing the likelihood that someone wins to roughly 50 percent, according to lottery specialists.
“As the jackpot climbs toward a billion dollars, ticket sales surge, and the odds of a winning ticket being sold jump to roughly 50 percent — essentially a coin flip,” Davidson University mathematician Tim Chartier explained.
He added that billion-dollar jackpots are rare, and randomness plays a major role. “We typically see only a small number of drawings at or above the billion-dollar level. But flip a coin often enough and you’ll occasionally see three or four heads in a row, which is simply randomness at work,” he said. “Eventually tails shows up.”
Below the $1 billion mark, the odds drop sharply because fewer people buy tickets. When jackpots hover around $500 million, the chance of a winner is only about five percent, Chartier noted, due to lower participation.
Even so, a 50-50 chance that someone wins nationwide does not improve the odds for any single player. An individual ticket still faces staggering odds of just 1 in 292.2 million.
Still, history shows that someone eventually hits it big.
“In the lottery, that ‘tails’ is the life-changing drawing that produces a winner,” Chartier said.
Despite all the attention, the current prize ranks as only the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot ever.
If claimed, the $1.7 billion jackpot would translate to about $781.3 million before taxes for a lump-sum payout, or roughly $58.6 million per year before taxes for those choosing the annuity option.
Wednesday night’s drawing is scheduled for 11 p.m. ET.
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