Christmas miracle: Lucky winner claims $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot
A lucky ticket holder in Arkansas won the massive $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve.
The single winning ticket matched all six numbers: 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59, along with the red Powerball 19 and a 2x multiplier.
According to the official Powerball website, the jackpot reached an estimated $1.817 billion after final ticket sales. This win ranks as the second-largest lottery jackpot ever claimed in U.S. history and the biggest Powerball prize awarded this year.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak – every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
This marks only the second time a Powerball jackpot has been won with a ticket sold in Arkansas. The first occurred in 2010, according to Powerball officials.
The winner will have the option to receive the prize as an annuity totaling $1.817 billion or as a lump-sum payment of $834.9 million, both before taxes. If the annuity is selected, the payout includes an initial payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.
Tuesday night’s drawing was the 47th of this jackpot run, setting a Powerball record for the most drawings in a single jackpot cycle.
The most recent jackpot win on Sept. 6 saw tickets in Missouri and Texas share a $1.787 billion grand prize, the second-largest in Powerball history.
The odds of hitting the jackpot are a minuscule 1 in 292.2 million.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are three drawings per week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays — and tickets cost $2 each. Adding the Power Play option, which can multiply winnings by two, three, four, five or 10 times, to a ticket costs an extra $1.
The largest Powerball jackpot ever awarded was in 2022 when a ticket in California won a $2.04 billion grand prize.
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
