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- Powerball has a winner after a historic $1.817 billion Christmas Eve drawing.
- At least one ticket beat the odds, matching all six numbers after 46 jackpot-free drawings.
- The winner will choose between a decades-long annuity or a massive lump-sum cash payout.
Powerball just announced the winning ticket of the $1.817 billion jackpot, delivering a historic Christmas Eve payout and the second-largest US lottery jackpot ever won.
Powerball confirmed that one ticket matched all six numbers in Wednesday night's drawing, securing the massive jackpot.
The winning ticket was sold in Arkansas.
The winning numbers were white balls 4, 25, 31, 52, 59, and red Powerball 19. The Power Play multiplier was 2.
The jackpot had drawn national attention as it grew through more than 46 consecutive drawings without a top winner since September 6.
The Powerball jackpot has been won once on Christmas Eve — in 2011 — and four times on Christmas Day, according to a Powerball press release.
The odds of winning are roughly 1 in 292 million, and each ticket costs $2. The lottery is available in 45 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
The winner will have the option of taking the prize as a $1.817 billion annuity paid out over nearly three decades or as a lump-sum payment of $834.9 million.
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