Powerball numbers for Wednesday, Dec. 27: $700 million makes Top 10 biggest jackpots

Jennifer Sangalang, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·7 min read

Will you become a multimillionaire just before the New Year's holidays? You could try your luck playing the Powerball. A $2 lottery ticket could have a big payout.

After no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the Monday, Dec. 25, aka Christmas Day drawing for $638 million, the top prize climbed to $700 million for Wednesday, Dec. 27.

With barely two months of rollovers, the grand prize finally cracked into the Top 10 biggest Powerball jackpots in U.S. history (see below). Wednesday numbers were 4-11-38-51-68 and the Powerball was 5. Power Play was 3x, And that grand prize keeps on growing.

With this latest rollover, now Saturday's Powerball jackpot climbs to $760 million, with a cash option of $382.5 million. That's the sixth-highest Powerball jackpot of all time.

There were two big winners from Wednesday's drawing. A ticket purchased in Texas won $2 million for matching 5 plus the Power Play. A ticket purchased in California matched 5 for a $1 million prize.

In case you're wondering, Monday numbers were 5-12-20-24-29 and the Powerball was 4. Power Play was 2x. Though it rolled over, there were some big winners from the Christmas Day drawing. Two tickets, one purchased in Colorado and the other her Georgia, matched 5 plus the Power Play for $2 million prizes. Three more tickets won $1 million prizes by matching 5. Those tickets were purchased in California, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

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Powerball tickets start at $2 apiece. Below are some frequently asked questions about Powerball, Florida Lottery and lottery odds. Good luck!

How much was Powerball lottery jackpot for Wednesday, Dec. 27?

an estimated $700 million with a cash option of $352.3 million

How much was Powerball jackpot for Monday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day 2023?

an estimated $638 million with a cash option of $321.1 million

How much was the Powerball lottery jackpot for Saturday, Dec. 23?

an estimated $620 million with a cash option of $310.8 million

How long has Powerball rolled over?

This series of Powerball lottery drawings started after the Oct. 14 rollover. Here's a recap of the drawings and how much the jackpot has grown (in so short a time):

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When do Florida Lottery tickets expire?

Prizes for Florida Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. To claim a single-payment cash option, a winner has within the first 60 days after the applicable draw date to claim it. Florida Lottery says its scratch-off tickets and Fast Play game prizes "must be claimed within 60 days of the official end-of-game date. Once the applicable time period has elapsed, the related Florida Lottery ticket will expire."

What happens to the unclaimed prize money?

According to the Florida Lottery, state law requires 80% of unclaimed prize funds from expired tickets be transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. The remaining 20% is returned to the prize pool for future drawings.

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What happens to unclaimed Powerball prize money?

Should a Powerball ticket not be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date, the Florida Lottery site states, "the funds to pay the unclaimed jackpot will be returned to the lottery members in their proportion of sales for the jackpot rollover series." According to Powerball's site, "unclaimed prizes are kept by the lottery jurisdiction. If a Grand Prize goes unclaimed, the money must be returned to all lotteries in proportion to their sales for the draw run. The lotteries then distribute the money, based on their own jurisdiction's laws, to other lottery games or to their jurisdiction's general fund, or otherwise as required by law."

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What are the odds of winning Powerball lottery game?

Powerball drawings are held at 11 p.m. EDT Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. According to Powerball.com, players have a 1 in 292.2 million chance to match all six numbers. Prizes range from $2 to the grand prize jackpot, which varies.

Are the odds of winning Powerball the same if the jackpot is $1 billion?

Players have a 1 in 24.9 chance of winning a prize, powerball.com states. Players have a 1 in 292.2 million chance to match all six numbers whether the jackpot is $20 million or $1 billion.

Can Florida lottery winners remain anonymous?

According to Florida Lottery's website, winners cannot remain anonymous: "Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide records containing information such as the winner's name, city of residence; game won, date won, and amount won to any third party who requests the information."

However, the site states, since May 25, 2022, the "names of lottery winners claiming prizes of $250,000 or greater 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 have said there are ways to remain anonymous if you win.

When did lotto jackpots hit $1 billion or more?

As of Dec. 27, 2023, there have been nine lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed $1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed $2 billion.

Who won, how long did it take to win Powerball, Mega Millions and those billion-dollar jackpots?

What are the Top 10 biggest Powerball jackpots in history?

Here are the Top 10 Powerball jackpots as of Dec. 27, 2023:

What are the Top 10 largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history?

The following Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots made the Top 10 biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history, as of Dec. 27, 2023.

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Anyone win Powerball for Wednesday, December 27, 2023?