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A player in the state of Arkansas won the Powerball jackpot of $1.817 billion after correctly guessing the six numbers of the drawing held on the night of December 24, the organization of the popular lottery game in the United States reported this Thursday.
The winning ticket, the only one that matched all the numbers, makes this prize the second largest jackpot ever awarded in the history of U.S. lotteries, surpassed only by the Powerball in November 2022, which reached 2.04 billion dollars in California, the entity reported in a statement.
The winning combination consisted of the white balls 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59, the red Powerball 19, and the multiplier Power Play 2.
The fortunate winner will be able to choose between receiving the total prize in annual payments of 1.817 billion dollars, distributed in 29 installments that increase by 5% each year, or a one-time cash payment of 834.9 million dollars, in both cases before taxes.
This is the second time that the Powerball jackpot has been won in Arkansas, following a drawing recorded in 2010.
"This is truly an extraordinary and life-changing prize," declared Matt Strawn, president of the Powerball Product Group, who also thanked the millions of players who participated during the long jackpot accumulation streak.
The prize accumulated after 47 consecutive drawings without winners, a record for the game. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the organization.
In addition to the grand prize, the drawing resulted in thousands of secondary winners across the country. Eight tickets matched the five white balls and won a million dollars each, while over a hundred players received prizes of 50,000 and 100,000 dollars.
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
More than half of the revenue generated from ticket sales stays in the state where they are purchased, funding public and social programs.
Since its launch in 1992, Powerball has generated more than 37 billion dollars for charitable causes in the United States.
After the historic Christmas prize of 2025, the Powerball jackpot resets to 20 million dollars for the next draw, scheduled for Saturday night.
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