Has the $1.8 Billion Powerball Winner Come Forward? Here’s What We Know
Posted on: December 29, 2025, 12:12h.
Last updated on: December 29, 2025, 12:25h.
- The winning ticket for the Christmas Eve Powerball drawing was sold in Arkansas
- The winner has 180 days from December 24 to come forward and redeem the prize
The second-largest lottery jackpot in the history of the United States was won on Christmas Eve. The lucky Powerball ticket was sold in Arkansas.
Five days later, many are wondering who is the winner of the generation-changing financial windfall. Officials with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery say the public will need to stay patient a bit longer.
The December 24 Powerball drawing marked only the second time that the Powerball jackpot was won in the Razorback State, with the first coming back in 2010. Officials with the state-run lottery, which benefits college scholarships through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, say the winner has yet to come forward to claim the $1.817 billion jackpot.
The winner has the option of collecting the full $1.817 billion payout from an immediate payment and then 29 annual distributions that increase by 5% each year, or a one-time cash option of $834.9 million. Both amounts are before federal and state taxes.
The white balls drawn on December 24 were 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59. The red Powerball was 19, and the Power Play was 2X. The odds of a ticket matching all six numbers are 1 in more than 292.2 million.
Powerball Winner Details
Most Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot winners have historically chosen the one-time cash option.
For the Arkansas winner, the $834.9 million would be reduced by 37%, the federal government’s take, to approximately $525 million. The payout would then be further slashed by 3.9%, the state’s take, for a net award of approximately $493.5 million.
If the winner opts for the full annuitized jackpot of $1.817 billion, they would collect about $1.075 billion after federal and state taxes by 2055.
While the Powerball winner has 180 days from the December 24 drawing date to come forward and redeem the prize, Arkansas’ lottery law allows winners of more than $500K to shield their identities from the public for a period of three years. The three-year grace period is designed to allow major lottery winners time to manage their sudden wealth.
Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Wyoming allow lottery winners of all prize levels to remain anonymous indefinitely. Most states, however, require lottery winners to become part of the public record to instill the public’s confidence in lottery operations.
Where Was the Powerball Ticket Sold?
Officials with Powerball said the Christmas Eve winning ticket was sold in Cabot at the Murphy USA gas station and convenience store near the Walmart Supercenter.
Located about 20 miles northeast of Little Rock, Cabot is a suburban city home to about 28K people. Cabot is home to highly rated schools and is known for its small-town charm. The median household income in Cabot is around $73K, making it among the wealthiest in Arkansas.
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