Christmas Eve lottery winner scoops large £1.3b jackpot | UK | News | EUROtoday

A Powerball ticket bought at a petroleum station exterior Little Rock, Arkansas, gained a $1.817 billion (£1.3 billion) jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve draw, ending the lottery recreation’s three-month stretch with out a top-prize winner.

The profitable numbers had been 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball quantity being 19. The profitable ticket was offered at a Murphy USA in Cabot, lottery officers in Arkansas stated on Thursday. No one answered the cellphone Thursday on the location, which was closed for Christmas. The neighborhood of roughly 27,000 folks is 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.

Final ticket gross sales pushed the jackpot increased than beforehand anticipated, making it the second-largest in US historical past and the most important Powerball prize of 2025, in line with Home. The jackpot had a lump sum money fee choice of $834.9 million (£617 million).

“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the web site.

“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.”

Lottery officers stated they will not know who gained till at the very least Monday as a result of winners should contact a claims middle, which is closed for the vacations till then, in line with Karen Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Arkansas lottery.

The prize adopted 46 consecutive drawings during which nobody matched all six numbers.

The final drawing with a jackpot winner was September 6, when gamers in Missouri and Texas gained $1.787 billion (£1.3 billion).

Organisers stated it’s the second time the Powerball jackpot has been gained by a ticket offered in Arkansas. It first occurred in 2010.

The final time somebody gained a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball stated. The firm added that the sweepstakes additionally has been gained on Christmas Day 4 occasions, most lately in 2013.

Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate huge jackpots, with prizes rising as they roll over when nobody wins. Lottery officers notice that the percentages are much better for the sport’s many smaller prizes.

“With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters stated Wednesday.

The recreation is obtainable in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.