AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
An Arkansas player won a massive $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending a three-month drought without a grand prize winner. The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52, 59, and Powerball 19. This marks the second time an Arkansas ticket has won the Powerball, the first being in 2010. It’s also the first Christmas Eve win since 2011. Powerball’s high odds of 1 in 292.2 million contribute to its large jackpots. Tickets cost $2 and are available in 45 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
A Powerball player in Arkansas won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.
The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19.
A person fills out a Powerball lottery ticket on Dec. 22 in Portland, Ore.
Organizers said it is 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.
Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.
“With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.
Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Associated Press videojournalist Obed Lamy in Indianapolis contributed.
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
