Arkansas Ticket Wins $1.817 Billion Powerball Jackpot

A Powerball ticket purchased at a Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, Arkansas, has won the $1.817 billion jackpot in the December 24 drawing, making it the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. The winning numbers were 4, 25, 31, 52, 59, and the Powerball number 19.

The jackpot had been accumulating since September 6, following 46 consecutive drawings without a winner. The cash option for the prize is valued at $834.9 million.

Cabot, a suburb northeast of Little Rock with approximately 27,000 residents, is abuzz with speculation about the ticket holder's identity. Mayor Ken Kincade noted that the gas station's proximity to a major interstate means the winner could be from out of town.

In Arkansas, lottery winners have 180 days to claim their prize. State law allows winners of prizes over $500,000 to request confidentiality for up to three years, unless they are elected officials or close relatives, in which case the confidentiality period is six months.

The Powerball jackpot had been growing since early September, following a previous payout of $1.787 billion. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is designed to generate large jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins.