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The lucky numbers drawn were 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59, with the Powerball number being 19 and a Power Play multiplier of 2.
This marked the end of a three-month streak without a grand prize winner in the lottery, as no one had matched all six numbers in the previous 46 consecutive draws.
The last occasion a jackpot was claimed was on September 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won a massive $1.787 billion (equivalent to $2.65 billion).
“A heartfelt congratulations to the latest Powerball jackpot winner! This is a truly remarkable, life-altering prize,” stated Matt Strawn, Chair of the Powerball Product Group and CEO of the Iowa Lottery.
Though there was just one major winner on Wednesday, eight other tickets managed to secure $1 million (approximately $1.5 million) each. These were sold in states including California, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Nationwide, 114 tickets won a $US50,000 ($75,000) prize and 31 tickets won $US100,000 (150,000), Powerball said.
Organisers said it’s the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.
The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.
And while multiple jackpots have been won either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, none of them have ever reached $US1 billion – until now.
The Powerball jackpot now resets to $US20 million ($30 million) for Saturday’s drawing.
The lottery game has generated some of the largest jackpots in US history, including the record $US2.04 billion ($3.04 billion) in 2022.
Jackpot winners have two options to get paid: either through an annuitised prize plan, with one upfront payment and 29 yearly payments increasing by 5 per cent, or through one lump sum pay out.
The annuitised prize plan takes interest into account. Most lottery winners take the lump sum.