Arkansas ticket scoops $1.8 billion in Christmas Powerball jackpot

A summons sold successful Arkansas scored a $1.8 cardinal Powerball jackpot aft Wednesday night's gully — 1 of the richest lottery prizes successful U.S. history, landing conscionable successful clip for Christmas.

The payout soared aft Monday's drafting produced nary winners, with last-minute summons income pushing the jackpot to $1.817 billion. That makes it the second-largest U.S. lottery prize ever and the biggest Powerball of 2025, the lottery website said connected Thursday.

The winning numbers — 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and the Powerball 19 — were drawn astir an hr earlier midnight. The likelihood of hitting the jackpot? A staggering 1 successful 292.2 million.

It was lone the 2nd clip Arkansas has produced a Powerball jackpot winner. The archetypal was backmost successful 2010.

Powerball tickets outgo $2 each. The fortunate victor tin take betwixt an annuitized payout of $1.8 cardinal implicit 29 years oregon a lump-sum currency enactment of astir $834.9 cardinal earlier taxes, according to the lottery website.

The Powerball jackpot was antecedently won connected September 6 by 2 tickets successful Missouri and Texas that divided a $1.787 cardinal prize.

Jackpots turn arsenic they rotation implicit erstwhile nary 1 wins, though the likelihood are acold amended for the game's smaller prizes.

"This is genuinely an extraordinary, life-changing prize," said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group seat and Iowa Lottery CEO.

The jackpot has been won erstwhile connected Christmas Eve successful 2011 and 4 times connected Christmas Day.

"The accidental of winning the lottery is, like, little than getting deed by lightning, and sometimes I deliberation my lottery is going to get deed by lightning," said New York instrumentalist Richie Vitale, 71, showing 5 lottery tickets helium had bought connected Wednesday.

"I think, 'Let's beryllium much hopeful and instrumentality a chance,' and I don't bargain lottery tickets each the time."

Nationwide, 9 secondary prizes of $1 cardinal were claimed successful the past drafting connected Monday.

"I came retired successful the rainfall to get the winning ticket, and I conscionable bought the winning ticket. So everybody other tin enactment home. I'm getting it. I'll stock it with you," said Long Beach, California, nonmigratory John Campbell.

Asked what other helium would bash with the money, Campbell said helium would stock it with the homeless. "I'm bushed of seeing them sleeping connected the street," helium said.

The largest U.S. lottery prize ever was a Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion, won successful California successful 2022.

Large jackpots thin to bolster summons sales, boosting gross for authorities lottery funds that enactment acquisition and different nationalist spending.

"It's scary, scary and breathtaking and a small spot daunting due to the fact that what would 1 bash with truthful overmuch money? But we'll see, we hope," said New York theatre manager Carl Schmehl aft buying tickets. "I would similar to effort to springiness a batch of wealth distant and assistance radical and, I don't know, stock it."