Lucky player wins $1.8bn in second-biggest US lottery prize

A lucky lottery player in Arkansas, United States, has won a staggering $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot, marking the second-largest lottery prize ever recorded in the country.

The winning numbers were white balls 4, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball being a red 19. According to the game organisers, the odds of winning were one in 292.2 million for tickets costing just $2 each.

The jackpot, which was won on Christmas Eve, has a cash option of $834.9 million, Powerball said in a Thursday statement.

The lottery company did not identify the winner.

Matt Strawn, Powerball product group chair and Iowa Lottery chief executive officer (CEO), hailed the winner, calling the jackpot “an extraordinary, life-changing prize”.

A lottery winner has an option of choosing between the annuity (30 payments over 29 years totalling $1.817 billion, with 5 percent increases each year) or the lump sum cash option ($834.9 million upfront). Winnings are subject to federal taxes and sometimes state taxes.

Most winners opt for the lump sum choice.  The largest lottery win in US history happened in 2022 when a Powerball player won $2.04 billion.

The game began in 1992 and is played in nearly all US states.(The cable)