Christmas miracle, of course. But is there such a thing as a miracle on Christmas Eve? After Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing, a winner probably believes them.
One lucky person who bought the ticket at the Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, Arkansas, northeast of Little Rock, will take home the $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot, which has a cash option of $834.9 million.
The Christmas Eve prize is the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever won and the largest Powerball prize this year, according to a news release from the Multi-State Lottery Association.
“Congratulations to the latest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, president of the Powerball Product Group and CEO of the Iowa Lottery, said in the release.
As of Wednesday night’s drawing, the jackpot had grown to an estimated $1.7 billion after no winners were named on Monday night.
Wednesday’s Powerball drawing was the 47th in the current jackpot race, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, making it the longest drawing to go without claiming a prize.
According to the association, only in 2011 was the Powerball jackpot won on Christmas Eve. The jackpot has also been won four times on Christmas Day, in 1996, 2002, 2010 and 2013.
Wednesday’s drawing marks the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won in Arkansas. It happened for the first time in 2010.
According to the release, the overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Other players also won big on Wednesday night. Eight tickets matched all five white balls and were sold in California, Indiana, Michigan, New York (two), Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. His reward is 1 million dollars.
An additional 114 tickets won the $50,000 prize, and 31 tickets won the $100,000 prize.
According to the release, Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They cost $2 each.
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