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

A Powerball ticket purchased at a petrol station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817bn (£1.3bn) jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve draw, ending the lottery game’s three-month run without a grand prize winner.

The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, while the Powerball number was 19. The winning ticket was sold at Murphy USA in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. No one answered the phone at the venue, which was closed for Christmas on Thursday. The community of about 27,000 people is 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.

Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previously expected, making it the second-largest Powerball prize in U.S. history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025. House. The jackpot had an option for a cash lump sum of $834.9 million (£617 million).

“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly a remarkable, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, President of the Powerball Product Group and CEO of the Iowa Lottery, was quoted as saying by the website.

“We also want to thank all the players who participated in this jackpot series; every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”

Lottery officials said they won’t know who won until at least Monday because winners must contact a claims center that is closed for the holiday until then, according to Arkansas lottery spokeswoman Karen Reynolds.

The award came after 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.

The last jackpot winning draw took place on September 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787bn (£1.3bn).

Organizers said the Powerball jackpot was won for the second time with a ticket sold in Arkansas. It happened for the first time in 2010.

The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was 2011, Powerball said. The draws have been won four times on Christmas Day, most recently in 2013, the company added.

Powerball’s 1 in 292.2 million odds are designed to win huge jackpots; The prizes keep increasing when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are much better for many of the game’s smaller prizes.

“With the reward being so high, I bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.

The game is available in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.