Transparency laws reveal the winner of historic $1.8-billion Powerball jackpot — and it’s the brother of the mayor of a small Arkansas city

An Arkansas man who won a record-breaking Powerball jackpot worth more than $1.8 billion has been identified as the younger brother of Terry Hartwick, the mayor of North Little Rock, Ark.

Tracy L. Hartwick bought a $30 Quick Play ticket with the Power Play option at a Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, a city of about 27,000 people northeast of Little Rock, before the Christmas Eve drawing, according to lottery records first reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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His ticket matched all five white balls and the Powerball, making it the second-largest jackpot in Powerball history. Hartwick chose a lump-sum payout, rather than the yearly payout for 30 years that would have equalled $1.8 billion all together. He took home $834.9 million before taxes.

Although Arkansas generally allows lottery winners to remain anonymous, a state transparency law ultimately made Hartwick’s name public because he is the brother of an elected official.

The anonymity exception

Arkansas generally allows people who win lottery prizes of more than $500,000 to keep their identities private. An exception created under Act 889 of 2021 limits that confidentiality to six months for elected officials and certain close relatives, including spouses, parents, children and siblings.

Since Tracy Hartwick is the brother of the mayor, his name became public once that six-month period expired.

Disclosure rules for lottery winners vary by state. According to a count by USA Today, 19 states allow jackpot winners to keep their identities private, at least under certain circumstances. Arkansas is one of them.

Moneywise contacted the mayor’s office for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

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How the prize was divided

Hartwick played 10 different number combinations, with his first selection — 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and Powerball 19 — proving to be the winner.

Lottery records show Hartwick claimed a 94% interest in the prize, leaving a 3% share for another brother, Timothy A. Hartwick, and the remainder to a third, unidentified winner. After federal and state tax withholdings, Tracy Hartwick received about $565 million, while the other two winners each collected roughly $18.1 million.

A rare win for Arkansas

Hartwick’s win was notable for more than the size of the prize. It was the second Powerball jackpot ever won with a ticket sold in Arkansas, following the state’s first jackpot win in 2010.

The timing also made the drawing unusual. Powerball said the last Christmas Eve jackpot was won in 2011. The game has also produced four Christmas Day jackpot winners, most recently in 2013.

Landing a Powerball jackpot remains extraordinarily unlikely. As reported by the Associated Press, the odds of matching all five white balls and the Powerball are about 1 in 292.2 million, and jackpots grow each time a drawing ends without a grand prize winner.

Local station THV11 reported that a spokesperson for the City of North Little Rock said the mayor did not plan to comment on the matter but was happy for his brothers.

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