Powerball jackpot climbs to $638 million ahead of Christmas drawing
MIAMI - When the Powerball numbers are drawn Monday evening, a lucky lottery player somewhere in the country could become a millionaire for Christmas.
The jackpot has risen to $638 million. It has an estimated cash value of $321.1 million.
In the past, three Powerball jackpots have been won on Christmas, according to a news release from Powerball. The last time was 10 years ago when an individual in Missouri won $71.5 million.
"This could be a very Merry Christmas for a Powerball player," Powerball product group chair Drew Svitko said. "It's not often we have a Powerball drawing coincide with the Christmas holiday and with a jackpot of this magnitude."
This is the fourth Powerball jackpot to reach more than half a billion dollars this year, according to Powerball. A ticket in California won the last Powerball jackpot, $1.765 billion, in October.
The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game's daunting odds of 1 in 292.2 million.
Powerball tickets cost $2, and drawings are each Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
You can watch the drawings on CBS News Miami, the official home of the Florida Lottery.