Powerball jackpot hits $685m after no winners in Christmas draw

After no ticket matched all six numbers in Monday night’s Christmas lottery draw, the Powerball jackpot in the US has increased to an estimated $685m from $638m.

With the next draw scheduled for Wednesday, a winning ticketholder would have the option of a top-prize, lump sum payout of approximately $345m, according to CNN.

It’s been ten years since anyone won the Christmas Day Powerball jackpot. A ticket purchased in Missouri won a $71.5m jackpot in 2013, according to a press release from Powerball.

Monday’s numbers were 5, 12, 20, 24, 29. The Powerball number was 4.

Several tickets matched the first five numbers to win a nice Christmas payout.

Ticketholders in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania won $1m each, while another ticket in California won about $2.08m.

The difference in those winning amounts is because non-jackpot prizes in California depend on how many winners there are and the number of tickets sold — rather than the fixed prizes listed on the Powerball website.

A further two tickets — sold in Colorado and Georgia — won $2m prizes because their holders included the Power Play feature, which increases the winnings.

There has been no winner of the Powerball jackpot since 11 October and it has rolled over each of the 32 drawings since then.

The last winning ticket was sold in California and the grand prize was $1.765bn.

If you’re feeling lucky, the overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are a slightly more challenging 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.