$1.8 Billion Arkansas Powerball Winner Claims Prize

The lucky Powerball winner had matched all five main white numbers — 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59 — plus the Powerball of 19, after 47 consecutive Powerball draws went by without a winner. This win marks quite a special bench, as it is the second Powerball drawing in history to be won by an Arkansawyer, the biggest lottery prize to ever have gone to an Arkansan, and the second largest jackpot ever won in the United States.

The Winner Comes Forward…

It was surely a very merry Christmas and happy New Year for this player, but now that we’re well into 2026, it’s logical that they’ve had plenty of time to seek financial counsel before making their claim.

Since the winner has chosen to stay anonymous, little is known about them. The Natural State permits anonymity for winners of prizes equaling $500,000 or more for three years under Act 889, which took effect in 2021. Once this three-year period ends, their identity is no longer exempt from the Freedom of Information Act requests and becomes public knowledge. Although public interest is likely to have died down significantly by then. In any case, here is what we do know…

The winner bought their Powerball ticket at Murphy USA, a convenience store in Cabot that will now get a $50,000 commission check for selling the winning ticket. The winner took the prize as a one-time cash lump-sum rather than take the annuity option, which banks the lucky player $834.9 million — substantially less than the jackpot’s value, but still an insane amount of money.

A Victory for Arkansawyers

Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Executive Director Sharon Strong said that she and the Scholarship Lottery are “proud to celebrate this moment, not only for our Arkansas winner and for Murphy USA, the Arkansas-based company that sold the winning ticket, but also for the positive impact this historic jackpot will have on our state and our mission to raise funds for in-state scholarships.”

Enter Powerball

If you’re encouraged to take part in Powerball, you can get a play slip at your local authorized lottery retailer or play online (depending on which US state you’re in). The jackpot is currently $43 million, which equals a cash value of $19.4 million, but that’s just for now. As draws roll on without a winner, the jackpot value will only increase. 

Draws happen every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 PM ET. Make sure you buy your tickets well in advance so you don’t miss out. You can check our results page as soon as the draw has concluded to find out if you’ve won.