Powerball Jackpot Hits $685 Million After No Winner Declared in Christmas Drawing

The Powerball jackpot has reached $685 million after no player claimed the top prize during the game's Christmas Day drawing.

The grand prize will next be up for grabs on Wednesday. If a lucky player's ticket matches all six numbers called by Powerball, they will have two options to claim their winnings. For example, the winner could accept their winnings as a lump-sum payment of $344.7 million, or take the full $685 million jackpot spread out over three decades in annual payments.

A winner who accepts a lump-sum payment will take home over $217 million after federal taxes are accounted for, according to calculations by Usamega.com. Individuals living in most states will also have to pay state taxes on the prize.

Although no one won the jackpot on Monday, several tickets snagged large prizes.

One ticket in Pennsylvania and another in New Hampshire won $1 million apiece. Two tickets sold in Colorado and Georgia won $2 million prizes through Powerball's Power Play feature, while a California ticket holder won slightly over $2 million.

Just three Powerball jackpots have been won on Christmas Day, according to Powerball. The last time that happened during Yuletide was in 2013 when a ticket in Missouri won $71.5 million.

This is the fourth Powerball jackpot to exceed half a billion dollars over the past year. The last — and largest — jackpot of 2023 was won by a ticket holder in California, who claimed the $1.76 billion prize on Oct. 11.