And up it goes! Powerball has now hit an estimated $1.7 billion ahead of the next drawing on Christmas Eve. Check out the latest winning numbers.

The jackpot leaped into the top five at $1.5 billion annuity or $689.3 million in cash after no one won in Wednesday's drawing, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

After no grand prize winner from the Dec. 13 drawing, the Powerball jackpot for Dec. 15 now is at $1.1 billion — 6th-largest in the game's history.

One lucky ticket winner in Arkansas matched all six numbers drawn last night to win a $1.817 billion jackpot. The jackpot has a cash value option of $834.9 million. This is only the second Powerball jackpot won in the state; the first was in 2010.

One lucky person could win the sixth largest Powerball jackpot in the history of the game after the lottery pulled the winning numbers Wednesday night. The winning numbers were 25, 33, 53, 62 and 66, with a Powerball of 17 and a Power Play multiplier of 4.

A running joke paid off big for a group of school teachers when they pooled change for a Powerball ticket and won a six-figure prize, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. The nine women work together at Swansboro Elementary in Onslow County, and they invested about 33 cents each to buy the $3 ticket.

Discover how taxes slash a $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot, with winners taking home far less after federal and state cuts.