A Laurel woman missed the Powerball jackpot by one number but took home a $50,000 prize.
The big Powerball jackpot caught the eye of a woman from Laurel. She decided to play numbers related to family birthdays and ages, and missed winning the jackpot by one number in the Sept. 3 drawing, but still walked away with a $50,000 prize.
The winner doesn’t typically play Powerball, she said when claiming the prize Sept. 5 at Lottery headquarters in Baltimore. She prefers Pick 3 and Pick 4.
The winner, going by the nickname “Finally!” to tell her story, recounted checking her ticket after the drawing and being surprised by how much her ticket resembled the drawn numbers. She showed it to her husband, saying, “Look at these numbers!”
His reply: “You won!” He realized she had matched four of the firsts five balls drawn plus the red Powerball for a third-tier win, missing the jackpot by a single number.
“I can’t complain,” the winner said.
Aside from getting her finances in better order, she has no plans for her winnings, but says she is going to play the jackpot games a little more.
“You never know!” she said.
The winning ticket was purchased at the Shoppers store at 13600 Baltimore Avenue in Laurel.
The next Powerball drawing is Sept. 6 when the estimated annuity jackpot will be $1.8 billion with a cash option of $826.4 million.
