UPDATE: The Powerball just keeps climbing, degenerates.

Remember when we told you about that $1.25 billion jackpot? Yeah, nobody won Wednesday night. Again. Which means Saturday's drawing is now worth an estimated $1.5 BILLION — the 7th largest lottery jackpot in American history.

Forty-four consecutive drawings. No winner. Hope is still alive.

The Quick Hit

• Current jackpot: $1.5 billion (up from $1.25B)
• Cash option: Approximately $700 million
• Next drawing: Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 10:59 PM ET
• Drought length: 44 drawings without a jackpot winner
• Odds of winning: 1 in 292.2 million (you know what? Shut up)

The Numbers Are Getting Stupid

Let's put $1.5 billion in perspective:

• You could buy 750 Bugatti Chirons (at $2 million each)
• You could pay the entire roster of the Chicago Bears for three seasons
• You could buy a private island, a yacht, AND a mansion in every major city and still have a billion left
• You could fund 15,000 full-ride college scholarships
• Or you could just put it in a savings account earning 4% and make $60 million a year doing absolutely nothing

This is the second time Powerball has hit $1 billion THIS YEAR. In September, it reached $1.8 billion before someone finally hit. Now we're right back in nine-figure territory.

Wednesday's Drawing Recap

The winning numbers from December 17 were: 25, 33, 53, 62, 66 with Powerball 17.

The Power Play multiplier was 4x.

Nobody matched all six numbers. A handful of people hit five numbers for smaller prizes, but the big one? Still sitting there. Waiting. Growing.

Why Is This Happening?

Two reasons:

1. The math: The odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 292.2 million. When millions of people play, someone usually wins within 20-30 drawings. But variance is variance — sometimes nobody wins for 40+ drawings, and the pot just keeps growing.

2. Mega Millions raised prices: When Mega Millions hiked ticket prices from $2 to $5 in April, a lot of casual players migrated to Powerball. More players = faster jackpot growth, but also more chances for someone to win. Except... nobody is winning.

The Ticket Economics

Powerball tickets are still $2. Compare that to Mega Millions at $5, and it's easy to see why Powerball is attracting more action.

Since April, Powerball has sold over 2 billion tickets generating $4.1 billion in revenue. Mega Millions? Just 495 million tickets and $2.5 billion. The price hike pushed people toward the cheaper option.

Should You Play?

Here's the honest truth: Your odds of winning are basically zero. You're more likely to:

• Get struck by lightning twice
• Become a movie star
• Be attacked by a shark while being struck by lightning

But here's the counter-argument: It's two fucking dollars.

For the price of a gas station coffee, you get 72 hours of dreaming about quitting your job, buying that house, telling your boss to go fuck themselves, and never worrying about money again.

That's entertainment value. That's hope. And hope, my fellow degenerates, is a hell of a drug.

The Bottom Line

Tomorrow night at 10:59 PM ET, five white balls and one red ball will determine if someone becomes an instant billionaire. The odds say it won't be you. The math says it won't be anyone in your family.

But someone has to win eventually. And when they do, it'll be the biggest single-ticket lottery hit in months.

Buy a ticket before Saturday. Dream big. And if you somehow hit, remember the degenerates who told you to go for it.

Good luck. You'll need it.