Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Christmas came early for whoever bought it powerball ticket out at a gas station little Rock, arkansasWhich is worth more than $1.8 billion.
The lone winner in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing matched all five winning numbers and the Powerball to capture the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, ending a three-month run of games without a top prize winner.
Here’s what you need to know about the Powerball jackpot and what happens next.
Where was the ticket sold?
The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, a northeastern suburb of Little Rock, population about 27,000 people. A telephone message left at the store Friday was not returned, but Alejandra Barron, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email that their stores were particularly busy on Christmas Eve with shoppers buying Powerball tickets.
This is the second time a big jackpot has been won at a Murphy USA store. Last year, an $800 million winning Mega Millions multi-state lottery ticket was sold at a Murphy Express in Sugar Land, Texas, Barron said.
The entire community of Cabot is discussing who the potential winner could be, said Ken Kinkade, the city’s mayor.
“it’s all over Facebook, Twitter,” Kincade said. “Everyone is talking about it and wants to know who it is.”
Because the gas station is located near a major interstate, Kincade said it’s also possible the lottery winner is from out of town.
“I hope it’s definitely a citizen of Cabot,” Kinkead said. “That would be amazing.”
what happens next?
Lottery winners in Arkansas have 180 days, or about 6 months, to claim their prize, said Karen Reynolds, spokeswoman for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.
Under Arkansas law, lottery winners of prizes greater than $500,000 can request that their identities remain confidential for three years, after which the information will no longer be exempt from disclosure. However, if the winner is an elected official or a close relative, those records only remain confidential for 6 months.
Lottery income is subject to state personal income tax in Arkansas, where the top rate is 3.9%. If the winner chooses the lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million, they will owe the state of Arkansas more than $32 million.
Arkansas law also authorizes garnishment of overdue taxes, delinquent child support and any other judgment or lien from lottery winnings if the person has such outstanding debts.
What else to know about Powerball?
The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19.
Powerball said the last time someone won the Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011. The company said the Christmas Day sweepstakes has been won four times, most recently in 2013.
Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate large jackpots, with prizes increasing when no one wins.
Lottery officials made the odds for hitting those huge jackpots tougher in 2015, though officials note that the odds are far better for many of the game’s smaller prizes.
Tickets cost $2, and games are offered in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.