Powerball estimated $1.817 billion Christmas Eve jackpot won by single ticket, in Arkansas

Santa had a whopping Christmas present in his sled on Christmas Eve.

A single winning ticket was sold for Powerball’s jackpot of an estimated $1.817 billion — in Arkansas. It was the second biggest winning jackpot in U.S. lottery history. 

The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were 4, 25, 31, 52, 59,  with a Powerball of 19. The jackpot had an estimated lump sum cash value of $$834.9 million.

Wednesday’s drawing was the 47th in the current jackpot run, a record for the most in a Powerball jackpot cycle, the game said. The last time a Powerball jackpot hit was on Sept. 6 in Missouri and Texas, when two tickets split a $1.787 billion top prize.

The Powerball jackpot had been won just once on Christmas Eve, in 2011, and four times on Christmas Day, the game said. Powerball started in 1992.

To win the jackpot, a ticket must match all five white balls and the red Powerball pulled during a drawing. A single jackpot winner will have the choice of the lump sum payment or a payout via an annuity that would consist of one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year. Both the lump sum cash estimate and the annuity estimate are before taxes. 

This is only the second time in the game’s history with back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion, Powerball said.

In 2022, a single ticket sold in Altadena, California, claimed a $2.04 billion jackpot, the largest in both Powerball and lottery history.

The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. Lottery jackpots have exploded in size over the last decade, while the odds of winning have gotten even slimmer. 

Tickets cost $2 each and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m. ET.