NPR85%
A Powerball player in Arkansas has won a $1.817 billion lottery jackpot93%
By The Associated Press74%
12/25/2025, 6:59:43 AM
Topics: National
BS Summary: This article contains 15 faulty reasoning types, including Anchoring Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Optimism Bias, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 48.2% saturation with 150 hits. Analysis detected 810 faulty-reasoning hits from 311 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 88.1% and a BS Rank of 93% (1,320 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 92.20% of the article peer group.
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.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, making it the second-largest in U.S. history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com.
The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.
"Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner!
This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize," Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website.
"We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country."
The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.
The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.
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.
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