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New York Lottery closes today for Thanksgiving as Powerball jackpot rises to massive $719M and everyone is talking about the big Saturday draw

Although New York Lottery tickets aren’t selling today, the Powerball jackpot hitting $719M has become the main talk among players.
posted by Soniya
Friday 11/28/2025 at 5:09AM EST
  • LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 18: A California Lottery poster advertises Powerball and other lotteries at a convenience store on July 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. The Powerball jackpot for the drawing on July 19th is now estimated to be $1 billion after three months of drawings without a winner. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
    LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 18: A California Lottery poster advertises Powerball and other lotteries at a convenience store on July 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. The Powerball jackpot for the drawing on July 19th is now estimated to be $1 billion after three months of drawings without a winner. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

    Thanksgiving is here, and while many places are closed for the holiday, the Powerball excitement is only growing. The New York Lottery has closed all its offices today, Thursday, November 27, because of the holiday. But even with the offices shut, people are still talking about the huge Powerball jackpot. The prize for Saturday’s draw has now reached a massive $719 million, which is one of the biggest jackpots of the year.

    Even though the lottery offices are closed, players can still buy Powerball tickets from normal stores or online. The offices will reopen on Friday, November 28. The holiday does not affect the Powerball drawing schedule, so everything continues as usual for Saturday night.

    New York Lottery offices closed for Thanksgiving

    For Thanksgiving Day, all New York Lottery offices are closed. This means players cannot visit any office today to claim prizes or handle paperwork.

    But the good news is that this does not stop anyone from buying tickets at authorized stores or online apps. You can still purchase your Powerball tickets without any issues. The offices will open again on Friday for regular hours.

    Powerball jackpot rises to $719 million.

    The reason everyone is excited is the giant Powerball jackpot. No one won Wednesday’s $681 million jackpot, so the prize rolled over and increased to $719 million for Saturday’s draw on November 29, 2025. If someone chooses the cash option, the amount is $333.3 million before taxes.

    This jackpot is now one of the largest in 2025. Four players in other states also won $1 million each in Wednesday’s draw, so even without a jackpot winner, many people are still taking home big prizes.

    How to play Powerball this weekend

    Playing Powerball is simple:

    • Pick five numbers from 1 to 69
    • Pick one Powerball number from 1 to 26
    • Each ticket costs $2
    • You can choose your own numbers or use Quick Pick

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    Powerball has nine different prize levels, so you can win smaller prizes too. Matching all five white balls without the Powerball gives you $1 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, and the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9.

    A big year for Powerball

    This year has already seen huge jackpots, including the $1.787 billion prize won in September. The current $719 million jackpot is also among the biggest of the year.

    Looking ahead to Saturday’s draw.

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    TOPICS: Powerball


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