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.
Attorney Andrew Stoltmann says some of the most vicious legal fights over the lottery come from office lotto pools gone wrong. Here’s what you need to know before you buy in.
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.
Attorney Andrew Stoltmann has represented 12 lottery winners, many of whom lost all their winnings through bad investments, reckless spending and greedy relatives. “Unfortunately, the people who win the lottery think at that point, the journey is over. And what they don’t realize is that the journey has really just begun,” says the Chicago-based Stoltmann.
Great Job Eric Mullin and Maria Fernanda Toledo & the Team @ NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth for sharing this story.
