A lottery winner from a tiny central Iowa community will spend New Year’s Eve in New York and have a chance to win a $1 million prize in a special Powerball® drawing.
Chris Manuel of Swan is among 29 nationwide finalists for the Powerball First Millionaire of the Year® drawing. The $1 million winner will be announced live on air just after midnight EST during ABC’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023” from New York’s Times Square.
Chris says she’s excited for the trip, but still worries she’s being punked!
Chris, who’s 60 and a locksmith, has had a trying yet successful year, undergoing cancer surgery and radiation treatments. She said she hopes that in February, she’ll find out she’s cancer free. She said that winning the $1 million prize would mean she could retire early and enjoy time with her husband.
This is the fourth consecutive year for the Powerball First Millionaire of the Year promotion, and it’s the first time since the inaugural edition in 2019 that finalists get to travel to New York City for the event.
Chris says she’s heard from nearly everyone in her Marion County community of 76 about her sure-to-be-memorable New Year’s plans. She said there will be a lot of people watching the drawing that night!
Each of this year’s finalists won an exclusive trip for two to New York valued at more than $28,000. It includes round-trip airfare; a three-night hotel stay in Times Square; two tickets to a theater performance and other iconic NYC excursions; all meals while in New York; $1,000 spending cash; and New Year’s Eve festivities including a Times Square party and viewing of the iconic ball-drop.
Chris says that while she and her husband, Randy, are both the “camouflage and blue jeans” type, she’s gotten a manicure with dark, sparkly polish for their trip and they both went clothes shopping.
They plan to take in a lot of New York: dinner at Carmine’s Italian Restaurant in Times Square, a performance of the Radio City Rockettes, a double-decker bus tour of the city, and a ferry ride to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
They also plan to fulfill their grandson’s request for M&Ms® in every color from the M&Ms World Times Square store.
Randy Manuel, who‘s 61 and retired, describes himself as “a totally country boy.” But he says he’s looking forward to New York, even if he is a bit nervous.
Randy says he initially thought something was wrong when his wife told him she had news to share in October. But then she said they were going to New York.
Randy says Chris is pretty lucky, so he hopes her luck keeps going!
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