The winner, who validated his ticket in Arkansas, will have to choose between receiving the entire prize over 29 years or a single payment of approximately $834.9 million.

A priceless Christmas gift. And the second-largest prize ever won in an American lottery. An American has won the $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot. The winning numbers were 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and the Powerball number 19. The odds of winning the jackpot were 1 in 292.2 million.

The ticket was purchased in Arkansas. This is only the second time a player from that state has won the Powerball jackpot. The first time was in 2010. A Powerball ticket costs $2 (€1.70). The lucky winner can choose between a 29-year annuity of $1.8 billion or a single payment of approximately $834.9 million before taxes, according to the lottery's website.

$2.04 billion earned in California in 2022

The Powerball jackpot had already been won on September 6 by two tickets from Missouri and Texas, which shared a prize of $1.787 billion. Jackpots increase when no player wins, even though the odds of winning the smaller prizes are much better. "This is a truly extraordinary, life-changing prize," said Matt Strawn, president of the Powerball product group and CEO of the Iowa Lottery.

The jackpot was won once on Christmas Eve 2011 and four times on Christmas Day. Nationwide, nine secondary prizes of $1 million each were won in Monday's drawing. The largest prize ever won in the U.S. lottery is a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot, won in California in 2022. Large jackpots tend to boost ticket sales, thus increasing revenue for state lotteries that fund education and other public spending.