Winning numbers for Christmas Powerball drawing $660 million grand prize

Powerball's Christmas Day drawing offered a $660.3 million jackpot. The winning numbers are 5-12-20-24-29 and Powerball 4.

The Powerball drawing on Christmas Day offered an incredible estimated jackpot of $660.3 million, leaving lottery players across the country hopeful for a life-changing win to end their holiday season on a high note.

The winning numbers for the Christmas night jackpot were 5-12-20-24-29 and Powerball 4, with a Power Play 2x. The cash option, which most winners choose, was an impressive $321.1 million.

Initially estimated at $638 million, the jackpot for Monday's drawing was announced as $660.3 million at the time of the event. Despite the excitement, it was not immediately known whether anyone had hit the jackpot.

The last Powerball jackpot winner was on October 11, when a single ticket in California took home a staggering $1.76 billion prize. This marks the fourth Powerball jackpot to exceed half a billion dollars this year, highlighting the game's immense popularity and the potential for life-changing winnings.

If a winner matches all five numbers and the Powerball, they have the option to take the full jackpot paid out over 30 years, or a smaller cash payout. The cash option for Monday's drawing was over $321.1 million, which is typically the preferred choice for winners.

The long odds of winning, at 1 in 292.2 million, contribute to the game's streak without a jackpot winner. These odds are designed to make winning rare so that grand prizes can grow to such enormous amounts.

Even with the smaller lump sum payout, federal taxes will significantly reduce the winnings, and some states also tax big lottery prizes. Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Powerball drawing takes place live at 10:59 p.m. Eastern every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Tickets, which cost $2 per play, are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million.

In recent years, lottery officials have made changes to the rules and ticket prices to boost top prizes, leading to more frequent occurrences of huge lottery jackpots. The addition of a Monday drawing to the Powerball's weekly lineup of Wednesday and Saturday evening drawings in 2021 was intended to result in "larger, faster-growing jackpots," as stated by Powerball officials at the time of the announcement. This change has contributed to the game's continued popularity and the excitement surrounding the potential for massive winnings.

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