Daily London
The winning numbers were 4, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with red Powerball 19, and a Power Play multiplier of 2.
The win ended the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner, with noone matching all six numbers for the last 46 consecutive drawings.
The last drawing with a jackpot winner was on September 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $US1.787 billion ($2.65 billion).
“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, said.
While there was only one big winner on Wednesday, eight tickets nabbed $US1 million ($1.5 million) to stuff their stockings. Those tickets were sold in California, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Nationwide, 114 tickets won a $US50,000 ($75,000) prize and 31 tickets won $US100,000 (150,000), Powerball said.
Organisers said it’s the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.
The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.
And while multiple jackpots have been won either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, none of them have ever reached $US1 billion – until now.
The Powerball jackpot now resets to $US20 million ($30 million) for Saturday’s drawing.
The lottery game has generated some of the largest jackpots in US history, including the record $US2.04 billion ($3.04 billion) in 2022.
Jackpot winners have two options to get paid: either through an annuitised prize plan, with one upfront payment and 29 yearly payments increasing by 5 per cent, or through one lump sum pay out.
The annuitised prize plan takes interest into account. Most lottery winners take the lump sum.
