Powerball Jackpot Surges to $1.25 Billion After 43 Straight Rollovers

The Powerball jackpot is officially on a massive run, jumping to an estimated $1.25 billion after no one hit all six numbers for the 43rd straight drawing on Monday night.

That puts Wednesday’s prize as the second-biggest Powerball jackpot of the year, trailing only the $1.787 billion win split by tickets in Missouri and Texas back in September. The cash option for this week’s draw sits at about $572.1 million before taxes.

This surge is also making Powerball history. It’s only the second time ever the game has rolled out back-to-back billion-dollar jackpots, adding extra excitement as the holidays roll in.

Here’s what happened in Monday’s drawing:

• Two tickets sold in Arizona and California matched all five white balls, scoring $1 million each

• 43 tickets won $50,000

• 14 tickets scored $200,000

• No one matched the red Powerball to take the top prize

If someone lands the jackpot on Wednesday, they’ll have two choices:

• Take the full $1.25 billion annuity, paid out over 30 years with payments increasing 5% annually

• Or grab the $572.1 million lump sum upfront, before taxes