Arkansas Ticket Owner Wins $1.8 Billion On Christmas Eve, Instantly Problems!
KEY POINTS
- â˘A single ticket sold in Arkansas won the $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot on December 24, marking a rare Christmas Eve payout.
- â˘The jackpot rolled for 47 consecutive drawings since early September, breaking the record for longest jackpot run in game history.
- â˘The winner can choose between an annuity of $1.817 billion or a lump sum payment of $834.9 million, both amounts before taxes.
In a miraculous break from tradition, a lone Powerball ticket sold in Arkansas snagged a $1.817 billion jackpot Tuesday night, one of the biggest jackpot runs in U.S. history â hitting the jackpot on Christmas Eve for only the second time ever. The winning numbers, 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and a red Powerball 19, ended a record-breaking 47-draw jackpot cycle that began in early September after the previous $1.787B jackpot win. The owner must now decide between taking $1.817B in annual installments or a lump sum of $834.9 million before taxes, just in time for holiday 'responsible adult' lectures from Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn. This jackpot comes with usual Christmastime perks like closed prize claim centers and early store closures, forcing winners to either savor their fortune or their cabin fever.
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Winning the $1.8B Powerball on Christmas Eve is like finding out Santa only delivers bills and lottery tickets now. Please sign your ticket, folks. Responsible adulting has never looked so confusing.
Congrats to the Arkansas lottery winner! Now they're just 292 million to one against figuring out how to spend $834.9 million in lump sum taxes without Googling 'how to disappear'.
Powerball's $1.8B jackpot winner just proven statistically more likely than catching lightning, but hey, whoâs counting when your shopping list is now Elon Musk sized?
Source: Axios | Published: 12/25/2025 | Author: Kelly Tyko
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