A $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot went unclaimed for almost a month — until now
They wished to remain anonymous and took some time to seek financial and legal advice.
Jan. 23 2026, Published 5:15 a.m. ET
Christmas Eve in 2025 witnessed one of the biggest winners in the history of Powerball. A lucky Arkansas resident hit a Powerball jackpot of a whopping $1.8 billion. However, no one came forward to claim the prize for quite a long time. It should be noted that winners usually get a year within which they have to claim their prize, and they can either take it as a one-time payment or over a period in installments. Well, the jackpot was finally claimed recently, with the winner choosing the first option.
The Arkansas resident who claimed the prize wished to remain anonymous, as per a CBS News report. The one-time cash payment would amount to $834.9 million before tax withholdings. Moreover, Arkansas Scholarship Lottery's Executive Director Sharon Strong explained that the winner waited for quite a bit before coming forward as they "took the time to seek legal counsel and financial advice."
Interestingly, it was not just the lottery winner who had a payday. The winning ticket was purchased at a Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, which will be awarded a $50,000 commission. The winning numbers were 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59, with a Powerball number of 19 as per the report. Powerball also revealed that there has been a large number of winners for the Christmas Eve lottery. Eight tickets won $1 million prizes, 114 tickets won $50,000 prizes, and 31 tickets won $100,000.
The $1.8 billion was the second-largest jackpot in the history of Powerball, and it took 47 draws over a period of more than three months for a winner to be called. The report states that during that time, Powerball generated over $15 million in cash sales and retailers earned over $768,000 in commissions. Although it has gotten harder to win jackpots, the prize money has increased drastically in recent years.
The winning ticket was from Cabot, which caused a buzz in the town. Even the mayor was excited to see who the winner was. Mayor Ken Kincade said that the entire community was buzzing with the news on New Year's Eve. “It’s all over Facebook, Twitter. Everyone’s talking about it and wants to know who it is," Kincade said. However, he hoped that the winner was a resident. “I hope it’s a citizen from Cabot, of course. That would be wonderful," he added.
Unfortunately, the winner chose to remain anonymous. Under Arkansas law, individuals who win more than $500,000 in lotteries can request to keep their identity confidential for up to three years, but if the winner is an elected official or a close relative of an official, the period is only 6 months.
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