Single Player Wins $1.8 Billion Powerball Jackpot
The Powerball jackpot landed in Arkansas on Wednesday night as the long wait for a winner came to an end after almost four months. The lucky ticket holder can now look forward to claiming $1.8 billion.
The winning numbers were 4-25-31-52-59, with a Powerball of 19 and a Power Play of 2X. With such a high jackpot in recent draws there have been far more entries than usual, creating lots more winners in total. And the strong ticket sales finally resulted in a jackpot win in the latest draw as someone matched all the numbers.
The jackpot-winning ticket was sold in Arkansas, where prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date. It remains to be seen whether the winner comes forward within the next few days or takes their time to let it sink in and perhaps seek financial advice first.
They must also decide whether to take the jackpot as an annuity or accept the cash lump sum of $834.9 million. Most big winners prefer to keep as private as possible, and Arkansas does allow lucky players to stay anonymous for up to three years.
It is the sixth time that the jackpot has been won in 2025, bringing the year towards a close in fine style. The last win came back on September 6, when players from Missouri and Texas split a $1.787 billion jackpot. Both winners have already claimed their money.
Edwin Castro from California remains the biggest winner of all time, having pocketed $2.04 billion in November 2022. He described himself as ‘shocked and ecstatic’ to bank the record jackpot – feelings that are sure to be shared by the latest winner!
For now, the jackpot will drop back down to its starting value of $20 million for the next draw. Could it be won for a second straight draw? Buy your tickets now and then keep up to date with the winning numbers as soon as they are available every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night.
Published: Thursday, December 25, 2025Updated: Thursday, December 25, 2025