‘It’s pretty crazy’: Cabot residents react to $1.8 billion US Powerball jackpot sold in their town

Residents of Cabot, Arkansas, reacted with disbelief and excitement on Friday (December 26) after a $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot — one of the largest lottery prizes in U.S. history — was sold at a local gas station just days before Christmas.

The winning ticket was purchased at a Murphy gas station in the small central Arkansas town, marking only the second time the state has produced a Powerball jackpot winner. The prize climbed to about $1.817 billion after Monday’s (December 22) drawing yielded no winner, pushing the odds-defying jackpot to the second-largest in U.S. lottery history.

“It’s pretty crazy. I don’t think anybody’s ever won anything in Arkansas, and being in Cabot, it’s even really close to home,” said local resident Sean McMath. He advised the winner to stay anonymous and invest the money, “live off the interest.”

Steffanie Holmes, a New York native, called the win a “huge blessing from God,” adding that she hopes the winner will use the money to help others. “Such a large sum of money at the hands of anyone can be such a blessing or so dangerous,” she said, encouraging the winner to pray about how to spend it.

Others focused on what the jackpot could mean for the town. Edith Coburn said the win puts Cabot “on the map for the lottery,” noting that lottery proceeds fund scholarships in the state.

The lucky ticket matched the numbers 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and Powerball 19, beating odds of 1 in 292.2 million. The winner can choose between an annuitized payout over 29 years or a lump-sum cash option of about $834.9 million before taxes, lottery officials said.

Production: Jose Pablo Diaz/Reuters