A northwest Iowa man stepped outside of his normal routine when it comes to buying Powerball tickets and that spur-of-the-moment decision brought him a $1 million prize.
Shane Saxen of Correctionville claimed his big prize this morning at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. He said he usually waits until the jackpot has climbed really high and then he’ll buy a ticket. But last week while he was running errands, he decided to buy two Powerball plays even though the jackpot for Saturday’s drawing was “only” an estimated $80 million.
He said he just decided: Why not?
Saxen’s ticket came within one number of having at least a share of Saturday’s Powerball jackpot. He matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $1 million prize.
News that someone had won big in Correctionville spread quickly in the Woodbury County community of about 800.
Saxen said his sister heard that someone locally had won big and asked if he’d bought a ticket. They checked his numbers and quickly realized he was the winner who had everyone talking. Saxen said his stomach dropped to his feet and then he paused for a second and realized it was just such a cool moment!
Saxen bought his easy-pick ticket at Brew, a convenience store and coffee shop at 404 11th St. in Correctionville. His big win came on Feb. 29, the Leap Year date that falls on a Saturday, one of the days when Powerball drawings occur, only about every 28 years.
Saturday’s winning Powerball numbers were: 24-44-46-50-51 and Powerball 13. The Power Play® number was 3. No one matched all six numbers to win that night’s jackpot, so the big prize climbs to an estimated $90 million annuity ($67.9 million lump-sum option) for Wednesday.
Brew will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.
Saxen, 31, works as a campus security officer at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. He said he plans to invest most of his winnings for retirement planning, and there likely will be a new set of wheels in his future.
And he’s glad that his sister sped up his timeline for checking his ticket. He said he eventually would have checked it, but with her help, he claimed his prize much more quickly!
In addition to Saxen’s big win, Iowa also had a $50,000 winner in Saturday’s Powerball drawing. That ticket, which matched four of the five white balls and the Powerball, remains unclaimed. It was purchased at Hy-Vee, 1005 E. Hickman Road in Waukee.
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