FLASH REPORT: Filipino Lottery Players hope for future win after Arkansas Powerball Jackpot for nearly U$D2B tops 2nd largest prize
(Written by Mitch Williams & Stella Zhau / Senior Tech and Financial & News Correspondent of Nickelodeon Action News)
CABOT, ARKANSAS -- A lone bettor hit the jackpot overnight in its natural state that matched all six (6) numbers in a recent Powerball draw held on Christmas Eve (December 24th, 2025 -- Central U.S. local time) when America's favorite jackpot game 'Powerball' struck it rich with cold hard cash for this holiday season, delivering a massive holiday windfall of almost U$D2 billion dollars, the second-largest prize in U.S. lottery history. The game was heavily followed internationally, according to statistics by TheLotter, a massive ticket messenger service giant, and there has not been a single Filipino winner to scoop the most prized win in this game.
Powerball Product Group Chair named 'Matthew Nathan Strawn' told Nickelodeon Action News in an early morning ambush interview that he expressed gratitude to its millions of players who participated during the almost 50-lottery drawing streak that began in early mid-September this year, due to extremely popular demand: "Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner [in Arkansas]! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize. 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", Strawn said.
The ticket that won was sold at the gas station 'Murphy USA' in Cabot. Arkansas lottery retailers generally receive a 1% commission on winning tickets; state laws tend to limit these incentives, as sources told Nickelodeon Action News. Sharon Ruth Strong, who is an Executive Director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL), in a separate press interview outside its mentioned gas station, said in part: "This is a great moment for the state of Arkansas. Not only will this benefit the state in tax revenue, but Murphy USA is an Arkansas company based [and] headquartered in El Dorado, and so that's just a full circle moment on how much of a benefit the [ASL] is to our state. Not only in terms of the retailer commission and the player winnings, of course, but ultimately all of our revenue goes to scholarships for the college students in our state", she noted.
The state of anticipated selling bonus amount was capped, which, on the contrary, as indicated by the ASL, the retailer will earn U$D50,000 seller bonus for providing a winning lottery ticket in America. Powerball's winning numbers for December 24th were 4, 25, 31, 52 & 59, with the red ball being 19 and a Power Play multiplier of 2x.
Arkansas' lucky ticket holder will have the choice between an annuitized prize of U$D1.817 billion or a lump sum payment of U$D834.9 million (approximately PHP106.71B or PHP49.034M after estimated conversions). Both of these prize options are before taxes. If a winner selects the annuity option, they will expect to receive one (1) immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase at a 5% interest rate per annum.
Although this jackpot remains in the U.S., Filipino players have come incredibly close in the past. During the Chinese pandemic in early mid-March 2021, a male engineer from Metro Manila won the 3rd division consolation prize of U$D50,000 (roughly PHP2.5M at the time, valued closer to PHP3M Philippine pesos). He was just one number away from U$D155M jackpot prize, but he did have a red ball number via TheLotter. The winning numbers on March 10th were 17, 18, 37, 44 & 53, and the red ball was 18 with a Power Play multiplier of 3x. To date, he remains one of the most successful international players to participate via an online messenger service.
The 47th draw of Powerball marks the final year for 2025, and the latest game record for the most drawings per jackpot cycle. America's jackpot drawing is now set back at U$D20M on Saturday (December 27th), prior to the celebration of 2026. Arkansas' player is set to collect and claim the jackpot prize next week on Monday morning or later, citing from Arkansas state law, that he or she has the right to remain anonymous, meaning we may not know their identity for years, possibly not until after the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In our home state of Texas, we can fantasize about a lot of money back home in Bailley City. That would be sufficient to purchase a fleet of high-tech Glitch vans at Hinobi Technologies and still have much remaining in stock to spend on tacos over a lifetime! It is certainly making history this holiday season as we congratulate that one bettor in Arkansas tremendously.
Looking at the independent statistics given by TheLotter in questionā¦ Will we see a Filipino player finally take home the big one? We have already witnessed a U$D50,000 win, but just consider the headlines if an international lotto player from Mega Manila, Cebu, Negros Island Region (NIR), such as Bacolod and Dumaguete, or Davao City, wins by millions, or billions of dollars physically within U.S. soil. You will see that the glass ceiling is broken sooner than you imagine. 2026 will become the year of the global Powerball winner when you play responsibly with us. We are so proud of you.
PHOTO COURTESY: KATV-TV's ABC 7 Arkansas BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: TEGNA
SOURCE: *https://www.lotterypost.com/news/357218 *https://www.powerball.com/1.817-billion-powerball-jackpot-won-in-arkansas *https://www.fox16.com/entertainment-news/ticket-sold-in-arkansas-wins-1-8-billion-powerball-jackpot/ *https://katv.com/news/local/18-billion-powerball-ticket-sold-in-arkansas *https://katv.com/news/local/18-billion-powerball-ticket-sold-at-this-gas-station-in-cabot *https://www.audacy.com/kmbz/news/national/christmas-eve-winner-in-arkansas-lands-a-1-817-billion-powerball-lottery-jackpot *https://regulations.justia.com/states/arkansas/agency-216/rule-216-00-15-002/ *https://x.com/MyARLottery/status/2003601618701263216 *https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/on-the-radar/2021/03/10/2083086/someone-philippines-could-become-155-million-richer-wednesday *http://cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2021/5/12/filipino-engineer-wins-2-4m-online-lottery.html and *https://www.sunstar.com.ph/philippines/lifestyle/filipino-player-wins-50k-or-p24m-in-lottery-online
-- OneNETnews Online Publication Team
