A lottery ticket holder in Arkansas, United States, has clinched a massive $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot, making it the second-biggest lottery win ever recorded in the country.
The winning combination featured white balls 4, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the red Powerball number being 19. Game organisers said the odds of hitting the jackpot stood at one in 292.2 million, with tickets priced at $2.
The jackpot was won on Christmas Eve and carries a cash payout option of $834.9 million, according to a statement issued by Powerball on Thursday.
The lottery operator has yet to disclose the identity of the winner.
Reacting to the development, Matt Strawn, Powerball product group chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Iowa Lottery, described the win as “an extraordinary, life-changing prize”.
Winners are given the choice between an annuity plan—30 payments over 29 years totalling $1.817 billion with annual increases of 5 percent—or a one-time lump sum payment of $834.9 million. All winnings are subject to federal taxes and, in some cases, state taxes.
Historically, most jackpot winners choose the lump sum option. The largest lottery payout in US history occurred in 2022, when a Powerball ticket holder won $2.04 billion.
Powerball was launched in 1992 and is currently played in nearly every US state.