After all the hub-bub surrounding the big jackpots in Powerball® and Mega Millions®, here’s a fun story about some Iowa winners. They may not have won a jackpot, but their story still packs a punch: They won a $150,000 Powerball prize because the husband made a mistake while filling out their play slip.
Barbara Haley of Sioux City claimed their prize this week at the Iowa Lottery’s regional office in Storm Lake. She said that she and her husband, Steve, have played the same numbers in Powerball for years, basing them on family birthdays. But when Steve filled out their play slip this particular time, he got one of the numbers wrong, marking an 8 instead of a 9.
Barbara admitted that she often razzes Steve for not wearing his glasses, but says she’ll stop complaining about that now!
Thinking that their ticket contained a slightly different set of numbers, the Haleys believed they’d won $300 and decided to claim the prize during a stop for groceries. Barbara said she started shopping while Steve went to cash in the ticket. But pretty soon she heard a store announcement asking her to go to customer service. When she got there, she learned they’d won a lot more than $300.
The Haleys’ ticket initially won a $50,000 prize in Saturday’s Powerball drawing by matching four of the five white balls and the Powerball. But because they added the Power Play option to their ticket for an extra $1, their prize was multiplied to $150,000.
The winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing were 5-8-17-27-28 and Powerball 14. The Power Play number was 3. I’ve included a shot of the Haleys’ winning ticket here so you can see the numbers they matched.
Was it a happy accident? A little extra luck? Whatever you call it, that’s a fun outcome!
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