Christmas Powerball pot rises to almost $640 million

The Powerball jackpot rose to $638 million just in time for Christmas. Only three winners have ever won on the holiday.

• The Powerball jackpot has risen to $638 million just in time for Christmas.
• There have only been three jackpot winners who have ever won on Christmas Day.
• The most recent Christmas win was in 2013, when a player in Missouri won $71.5 million.

As far as Christmas gifts go, this would make a decent one.

The Powerball jackpot prize rose to $638 million after no winners were drawn on Saturday. The next drawing will be on December 25. The lump-sum payout would be $321 million.

Though there was no jackpot winner on Wednesday, two tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri won $1 million prizes, and a ticket in Nebraska won $2 million because the player included the Power Play, Powerball said in a news release.

Powerball hopes that Monday's drawing can "spice up the Christmas spirit," Powerball Product Group Chair and Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said in a release.

According to the release, only three Powerball jackpots have ever been claimed on Christmas. The last time someone won on the holiday was in 2013, when a Powerball player in Missouri won a $71.5 million jackpot.

"We kindly remind our Powerball players to play responsibly and that it only takes one ticket to win big," Svitko said.

Edwin Castro of Los Angeles won the biggest US lottery jackpot of all time in November 2022. His identity was made public under state lottery laws in February. Castro took the lump sum payout option, meaning his winnings totaled $997 million.

Just before Powerball released Castro's identity in February — in compliance with state lottery laws — he disappeared from social media and left for a vacation resort in Fiji, Insider previously reported.