The lottery frenzy continues – just in time for the holiday season! With the Powerball at $1.5 billion and Florida on a recent streak of five million dollar wins in less than a month, here’s a Sunshine State win.
As they say in the lottery business, “it could happen to you.”
After no one matched all five plus Powerball numbers in the Powerball drawing on Wednesday, December 17th, the jackpot jumped to a whopping $1.5 billion for Saturday, December 20th. If there is a jackpot winner and it goes for the money, the one-time lump sum would be $686.5 million, according to Powerball online.
The jackpot is Powerball’s fifth-largest of all time and one of 14 times a lottery jackpot has reached or exceeded $1 billion or more (see below). Check back after 11pm ET for Saturday, December 20th Powerball winning numbers. We’ll see if there’s a winner or another chance at an even bigger win during Hanukkah and before Christmas.
In case you were wondering, on Wednesday December 17th the winning numbers were 25-33-53-62-66 and the Powerball was 17. The Power Play was 4x.
While it resulted in a twist, it wasn’t all bad news: There were eight lucky tickets that won big in Wednesday’s Powerball drawing. Tickets purchased in Arizona and Massachusetts matched 5 plus Power Plays for $2 million in prizes. And there were three Game 5 winning tickets in New York and one each in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
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There were other recent Florida Powerball wins — five drawings in less than a month:
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Saturday, December 13, the winning Powerball numbers were 1-28-31-57-58 and Powerball was 16. Power Play was 2x. Although the jackpot was not hit that Saturday, several other tickets were lucky. The one in Florida was one of five (California, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia) that tied 5 for the million dollar prize. Two lucky tickets, one from North Carolina and the other from Pennsylvania, matched the 5 plus Power Play for $2 million in prizes.
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On Monday, December 8, the Powerball numbers were 8-32-52-56-64 and the Powerball was 23. The Power Play was 2x. While those numbers produced another twist, there was good news for one local Powerball player: The only secondary prize in Monday’s Powerball drawing came from Florida. The $1 million prize ticket was purchased at 7-Eleven, 3991 S. Kanner Highway, Stuart, Florida, part of the Treasure Coast.
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On Saturday, December 6, the winning Powerball numbers were 13-14-26-28-44 and the Powerball was 7. Power Play was 2x. While those numbers didn’t hit the jackpot, it wasn’t all bad news: One ticket purchased in Florida and two each in Georgia and Texas matched 5 for the million dollar prize. Even luckier was a ticket purchased in New Jersey that matched 5 plus Power Play for a $2 million prize. The local Powerball winner purchased their winning ticket at Circle K, 2809 Atlantic Ave., Fernandina Beach, Florida.
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For the Wednesday, December 3 Powerball drawing — with winning numbers 1-14-20-46-51 and Powerball 26 with Power Play 3x — there were three big winners in that Powerball drawing. A ticket from Florida and one from California each tied for 5 for $1 million prizes. Even luckier, a ticket purchased by Kentucky matched the 5 plus Power Play for a $2 million prize. The local $1 million Powerball ticket was purchased at Town Star, 1305 W. Orange Blossom Trail, Apopka, Florida. It was a quick choice.
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And finally, a ticket from the Powerball drawing on Saturday, November 29, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend of 2025, matched five numbers to win $1 million. The winning numbers on that Quick Pick ticket were 19-22-30-32-59 and the Powerball was 1. The Power Play was 2. The Quick Pick ticket was purchased at Thorntons, 425 E. Brandon Blvd., Brandon, Florida.
Since then, the current jackpot has been topped more than 40 times after returning to $20 million on September 8, when a pair of tickets from Fredericksburg, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri won the $1.787 billion Powerball drawing on September 6.
Mega Millions has been on a lottery frenzy this holiday season as well, after a ticket from a Georgia Publix matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win $980 million on Friday, November 14. That Mega Millions jackpot moved up the list of the largest Mega Millions jackpot of all time and nearly became the second billion dollar jackpot in Mega Millions lottery history and $120 million. Powerball.
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Tickets start at $2 each. Below is what you need to know about lottery odds, how long to claim the cash option if you bought a ticket in Florida, and what happens to unclaimed prizes, according to the Florida Lottery.
Luck!
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Anyone win Powerball? What were the winning Powerball numbers for Saturday, December 20, 2025?
Powerball drawings are held at 11:00 PM ET every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, including holidays. Check back for the Saturday, December 20 Powerball and Power Play winning numbers. We’ll see if there’s a big winner so soon after the historic $1.8 billion Powerball or another shot at more cash during the 2025 holiday season.
What is the cash option? After the $1.8 billion Powerball, here’s how much Texas, Missouri winners are taking home
How long has the Powerball been flipped?
The current Powerball streak began on Monday, September 8, after a ticket purchased in Fredericksburg, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri, matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the $1.787 billion drawing on September 6, 2025.
Below is a recap of the drawings and twists and how much the jackpot has grown over time.
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Saturday, December 20: $1.5 billion
When is the next Powerball drawing? What are the odds of winning the Powerball lottery?
Powerball drawings are held at 11:00 PM ET on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, including holidays. According to Powerball.com, players have a 1 in 292.2 million chance of matching all six numbers, whether the jackpot is $20 million or $2 billion. Prizes range from $2 to the grand jackpot, which varies.
The next Powerball drawing will take place on Monday, December 22, a few days before the 2025 Christmas holiday.
What are the odds? The drawing of the Florida Lottery game has consecutive numbers: 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
Florida Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days (six months) of the drawing date. To claim a one-time cash option, the winner has 60 days from the applicable draw date to claim it.
The Florida Lottery says its scratch tickets and Fast Play game prizes “must be claimed within 60 days of the official game end date. Once the applicable time period has passed, the Florida Lottery ticket will expire.”
Can Florida lottery winners remain anonymous?
According to the Florida Lottery’s website, winners cannot remain anonymous: “Florida law requires the Florida Lottery to provide records containing information such as the winner’s name, city of residence; game won, date won, and amount won to any third party that requests the information.”
However, the site states, “the names of lottery winners who claim prizes of $250,000 or more 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 said there are ways to stay anonymous if you win.
What are the top 10 biggest Powerball jackpots in history?
Here are the top 10 Powerball jackpots in the game’s history as of December 20, 2025:
10. $758.7 million — August 23, 2017; Massachusetts
9. $768.4 million — March 27, 2019; Wisconsin
8. $842.4 million — January 1, 2024; Michigan
7. $1.08 billion — July 19, 2023; California
6. $1.33 billion — April 6, 2024; Oregon
5. $1.5 billion — December 20, 2025? TBD
4. $1.586 billion — January 13, 2016; California, Florida and Tennessee
3. $1.765 Billion Powerball Drawing – October 11, 2023; California
2. $1.787 billion — September 6, 2025; Missouri and Texas
1. $2.04 billion — November 7, 2022; California
When did the lottery jackpots reach $1 billion or more for Mega Millions and Powerball? What are the biggest lottery jackpots in US history?
As of December 20, 2025, there have been 14 lottery jackpots that have reached or exceeded $1 billion. Only once has a jackpot exceeded $2 billion. These are the largest lottery jackpots in US history.
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$1.58 Billion Mega Millions Prize August 8, 2023 Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida
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$1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot October 23, 2018 won by an anonymous player from South Carolina
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$1.5 Billion Powerball Prize December 20, 2025? TBD
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$1.348 billion Mega Millions prize, January 13, 2023, LaKoma Island Investments, LLC, with ticket purchased in Lebanon, Maine
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$1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot July 29, 2022 won by an anonymous partnership with a ticket purchased in Des Plaines, Illinois
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$1.326 Billion Powerball Prize April 6, 2024 Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon
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$1.128 billion Mega Millions jackpot, March 26, 2024 won by an anonymous winner from New Jersey with ticket purchased at ShopRite Liquor No. 781 in Neptune Township, New Jersey
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$1.08B Powerball Prize July 19, 2023 Yanira Alvarez of California
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$1.050 Billion Mega Millions jackpot January 22, 2021 won by Wolverine Club FLL of Oakland County, Michigan
(This story will be updated to include new information.)
This article originally appeared on the Palm Beach Post: Saturday, December 20, 2025 Powerball winner for $1.5 billion jackpot?