Historic Powerball draw ends with $1.8 billion winning ticket sold in Arkansas

This Christmas Eve turned into a life-changing moment for one very lucky person in Arkansas.

A single Powerball ticket sold in the state won the massive $1.8 billion jackpot, ending weeks of excitement and guessing across the country.

The final jackpot reached $1.817 billion, making it the second-largest lottery win in U.S. history.

The winner also has the option to take a one-time cash payout of about $834.9 million, before taxes. It is the biggest Powerball prize of the year and one of the biggest lottery moments ever.

The winning numbers that made history

The winning numbers drawn on Christmas Eve were:

4, 25, 31, 52, 59

Powerball: 19

Power Play: 2x

This jackpot did not come overnight. It took 47 drawings without a winner for the prize to grow this large.

That is the longest jackpot run Powerball has ever had. Each drawing without a winner pushed the prize higher, building huge excitement across the U.S.

Lottery officials called the win “life-changing” and congratulated the new winner, saying moments like this are rare and special.

Many other players also won big

Even though there was only one jackpot winner, plenty of other players still walked away happy.

Eight tickets won $1 million each by matching five numbers. Those tickets were sold in states like California, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Across the country, more than 100 tickets won $50,000, and over 30 tickets won $100,000 thanks to the Power Play option.

While the jackpot grabbed the headlines, many smaller wins helped make this drawing memorable for lots of people.

What happens to the Powerball now?

Now that the jackpot has been claimed, the Powerball prize resets to $20 million for the next drawing.

Players can try their luck again on Saturday night. Powerball drawings continue every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.

Powerball has created some of the biggest lottery wins in American history.

While this Arkansas prize is huge, the all-time record still belongs to the $2.04 billion jackpot won in 2022.

How the winner gets paid

The Arkansas winner now has an important decision to make.

They can choose a lump-sum payment, which most winners prefer, or take the money as an annuity, paid out over 30 years with yearly increases.