Honestly, the holidays just hit different for one person in Arkansas this year. While the rest of us were arguably fighting over the last bit of ham or nursing a post-Christmas nap, a single ticket holder was quietly becoming a billionaire.
On Christmas Eve 2025, someone matched every single number for a massive $1.817 billion jackpot. It was the second-largest prize in U.S. history. Total madness. The winner of last powerball officially ended the year with a bank account that most people can't even wrap their heads around.
Since that massive win, the jackpot reset and has been slowly climbing again. As of mid-January 2026, the big prize is sitting around $156 million because nobody hit the top spot in the January 14 drawing. But everyone is still talking about that Arkansas ticket.
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The winning numbers were 4, 25, 31, 52, 59, and the Powerball was 19. If you had those on your fridge, your life just changed. Period.
Arkansas lottery officials confirmed the ticket was sold in the state, but they’ve been pretty tight-lipped about the exact store or the person's identity. In Arkansas, you can actually claim lottery prizes through a trust if you want to stay anonymous, which is what most smart people do when they suddenly own a billion dollars.
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Think about the math for a second. The cash option for that $1.817 billion was roughly $834.9 million. Even after the IRS takes their massive cut—and they definitely will—that’s more money than some small countries have in their treasury. It’s "never-work-again-and-neither-will-your-great-grandkids" money.
Why the Winner of Last Powerball Still Hasn't Stepped Forward
It is actually pretty common for winners of these gargantuan jackpots to go underground for a few weeks. You've gotta hire a lawyer. You need a financial advisor who doesn't just want to sell you a boat. You basically have to rebuild your entire life’s infrastructure before you sign that ticket and hand it over to the state.
Basically, the winner of last powerball is likely sitting in a room right now with a team of experts trying to figure out how to not ruin their life. We’ve all heard the "lottery curse" stories. The 2025 Arkansas winner is clearly trying to avoid becoming a statistic.
Recent Winners and Near Misses
While the billion-dollar prize is the headline, 2026 has already seen some smaller, but still life-changing, wins:
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- January 12, 2026: A woman in California, visiting home for the holidays, grabbed a $150,000 prize after matching four white balls and the Powerball with a 3X multiplier.
- January 10, 2026: A player in Manchester, New Jersey, hit the "Double Play" drawing for a cool $500,000.
- Late December 2025: Eight different tickets across states like New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania matched all five white balls but missed the Powerball. They each walked away with $1 million.
It’s easy to focus on the big B—the billions—but these "smaller" wins are happening every week.
What Most People Get Wrong About Winning Big
People think you just walk into the lottery office, show your ticket, and they hand you a giant check like in a cartoon. Kinda. But it's way more bureaucratic than that.
If the winner of last powerball chooses the annuity, they get 30 payments over 29 years. Most people take the lump sum. Why? Because $834 million today is usually worth more than $1.8 billion spread over three decades, especially if you know how to invest.
But here is the kicker: taxes. The federal government takes 24% off the top immediately as a "withholding tax." Then, you likely owe the rest of the top 37% tax bracket when you file. In Arkansas, the state takes another 5.9%. By the time you’re done, that $834 million cash lump sum looks more like $480 million.
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"Only" $480 million. Life is tough, right?
How to Handle a Win If You’re Next
If you're reading this and checking your ticket for the next $150+ million draw, there are a few things you actually need to do. First, sign the back of the ticket. It's a "bearer instrument," meaning whoever holds it owns it. If you lose an unsigned winning ticket, you're out of luck.
Next, shut up. Don't tell your neighbor. Don't post it on Facebook. The winner of last powerball is doing it right by staying quiet.
Actionable Steps for Lottery Players
Whether you're chasing a billion or just hoping for enough to pay off the car, keep these things in mind:
- Check the "Double Play" option. It’s an extra dollar, but as that Jersey winner found out, it can turn a "zero" into $500,000.
- Use the app. Most states have an official lottery app. Scan your tickets. People leave millions of dollars on the table every year because they misread their numbers.
- Know the odds. You have a 1 in 292.2 million chance of hitting the jackpot. You have a much better chance of being struck by lightning while being eaten by a shark. Play for fun, not as a retirement plan.
- Keep the ticket safe. Put it in a bank safe deposit box or a fireproof safe until you have your legal team ready.
The story of the winner of last powerball is still unfolding. We might not know their name for months, or we might never know if they used a blind trust. Either way, that Christmas Eve ticket changed the lottery landscape for 2025 and set a massive bar for anyone playing in 2026.
Check your pockets. Check your glove box. You never know where a billion dollars might be hiding.