Powerball jackpot climbs to massive $654 million as players wait to see if the next big winner will be from Illinois

​The Powerball jackpot has reached a huge amount again, and many people across the country are excited to see if someone finally wins it. As we move into Monday night’s draw, the jackpot now stands at $654 million, which is one of the biggest jackpots of this year. The cash value for this prize is $303.2 million if someone chooses the lump-sum option.

The jackpot has been growing for weeks. No one has matched all the winning numbers in the recent draws, so the prize keeps getting bigger. This new amount is also about $70 million more than last week’s drawing, which shows how fast the jackpot can rise.

The jackpot continues to grow after no winner on Saturday

In the latest Saturday drawing, nobody won the top prize. However, two players from Georgia and Oklahoma matched all five white balls and won $1 million each. They missed only the red Powerball.

Even with these big wins, the jackpot itself rolled over once again. If the next few drawings also go without a winner, the prize could soon enter the list of the top ten biggest Powerball jackpots in history.

The most recent grand prize that was won was the huge $1.8 billion jackpot on September 6, 2025. Two players, one from Missouri and one from Texas, shared that massive amount.

When and how to watch the drawing

Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. The draw happens at the Florida Lottery studio in Tallahassee and can be watched live online. Many players tune in just to see the winning numbers flash on the screen, hoping their ticket matches.

The rules are simple: to win the Powerball jackpot, a ticket must match all five white balls in any order and the red Powerball. Even if you don’t match everything, there are still smaller prizes for matching fewer numbers. Powerball has nine different ways to win, starting from $4.

Winners can choose either the annuity, which is paid out over 29 years in 30 payments, or they can take the lump sumcash amount.

The odds and the biggest jackpots in Powerball history

Like always, the odds are tough. The chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in 292,201,338. The odds of winning $1 million are 1 in 11,688,053.52, and the odds of winning $50,000 are 1 in 913,129.

Even with these long odds, millions try their luck every week, hoping they’ll be the next big winner.

Here are the Top 10 Powerball jackpots ever recorded:

1. $754.6 million — Feb. 6, 2023 (Washington)
2. $758.7 million — Aug. 23, 2017 (Massachusetts)
3. $768.4 million — March 27, 2019 (Wisconsin)
4. $842.4 million — Jan. 1, 2024 (Michigan)
5. $1.08 billion — July 19, 2023 (California)
6. $1.33 billion — April 6, 2024 (Oregon)
7. $1.586 billion — Jan. 13, 2016 (CA, FL, TN)
8. $1.765 billion — Oct. 11, 2023 (California)
9. $1.8 billion — Sept. 6, 2025 (Missouri & Texas)
10. $2.04 billion — Nov. 7, 2022 (California)

As players prepare for Monday’s drawing, many in Illinois and around the U.S. are hoping the next big winner could be them. For now, everyone will have to wait and watch what happens next.

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