$1.817B Powerball jackpot won in Arkansas, second-largest U.S. lottery prize ever

A single ticket sold in Arkansas matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing, winning a $1.817 billion jackpot — the second-largest U.S. lottery prize ever won and the largest Powerball jackpot this year.

The winning numbers drawn Wednesday, Dec. 24, were white balls 4, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with red Powerball 19. The Power Play multiplier was 2. The jackpot carries a cash option of $834.9 million before taxes.

With final ticket sales tallied, the prize climbed to $1.817 billion, marking only the second time a Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. The first occurred in 2010.

“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.”

The winner will have the choice between an annuitized prize of $1.817 billion or a lump-sum payment of $834.9 million, both before taxes. Under the annuity option, the prize would be paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.

Lottery officials are reminding players nationwide to check their tickets carefully, as many prizes were won in the drawing.

Eight tickets across the country matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. Those tickets were sold in California, Indiana, Michigan, New York (two), Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In California, Match 5 prizes are awarded on a pari-mutuel basis, with amounts determined by sales and the number of winners.

The drawing also produced 114 tickets that won $50,000 prizes and 31 tickets that won $100,000 prizes.

In the Double Play drawing, two tickets sold in Colorado and South Carolina matched all five black balls to win $500,000 prizes. Double Play is a $1 add-on feature that allows players to use their Powerball numbers in a separate drawing for a chance to win up to $10 million. The Double Play drawing is livestreamed on Powerball.com following the main drawing.

 There were 10 New Jersey players who each won $50,000 prizes and one who captured $100,000.

Wednesday night’s drawing marked the 47th in the jackpot run, a Powerball record for the most drawings in a single jackpot cycle. The previous Powerball jackpot was won on Sept. 6, when tickets sold in Missouri and Texas split a $1.787 billion prize.

For Saturday night’s drawing, the Powerball jackpot resets to $20 million. The Power Play 10X multiplier will be available because the advertised jackpot is below $150 million.

Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than half of all proceeds from ticket sales remain in the jurisdictions where they are sold. Since its first drawing in 1992, Powerball has generated more than $37 billion for causes supported by U.S. lotteries.

Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 24.9, while the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.