A Northwest Arkansas resident has claimed the $250.8 million Powerball jackpot, according to a March 31 announcement from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. The winning ticket for the March 2 drawing was purchased through the Jackpocket mobile app, with numbers selected by the winner, who chose to remain anonymous.
The winner opted for a one-time cash payment of $118 million before taxes. The winning ticket was ordered via Jackpocket and fulfilled at Winners Corner in Little Rock. Every ticket sold supports education in Arkansas, with net proceeds funding scholarships across the state.
During this jackpot cycle, Powerball generated over $2.3 million in cash sales and more than $121,000 in retailer commissions statewide. Sharon Strong, Executive Director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, said: “We’ve been extremely fortunate to have not just one, but two huge Powerball jackpot winners in Arkansas within the last few months. This month’s win further highlights the lottery’s positive impact on the state. From the retailers who sell our tickets to the students who benefit from lottery-funded scholarships, we look forward to supporting even more ‘big wins’ for Arkansans.”
This marks only the third time a Powerball jackpot has been won in Arkansas; previous wins include a record-breaking $1.817 billion prize on December 24 and a $25 million win on January 2, 2010.
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play with drawings held three times weekly and overall odds of winning any prize at about one in 24.9; odds of hitting the jackpot are roughly one in 292 million.
Since its inception in 2009, ASL reports selling over $8 billion worth of tickets and providing more than $1.6 billion for college scholarships benefiting over 873,000 Arkansans.
