 Wilbur Herbert Jr. of Glen Burnie was one of 24 $50,000 winners in Maryland in the Jan. 13 Powerball drawing. |
$2 ticket turns into $50,000 prize
Three-and-a-half years ago, Wilbur Herbert Jr. was homeless. With the help of his brother and sister-in-law, he has found a place to live and gotten back on his feet. And, this week, he claimed a $50,000 prize in the Jan. 13 world-record Powerball jackpot drawing.
Like millions of other people across the country, Wilbur was hoping to land the $1.6 billion jackpot. But the $50,000 he won will provide a much-needed boost to the disabled Glen Burnie resident.
“He’s been disabled since 2000, and he’s pushed through and did what he had to do,” said his sister-in-law, who accompanied him to Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. “This is going to help him a lot.”
It was Wilbur’s sister-in-law who encouraged him to buy a ticket for the big jackpot drawing.
“She said, ‘You should play, take a chance,’ ” Wilbur said.
He purchased his ticket at Pops Grocery and Deli located at 7459 East Furnace Branch Road in Glen Burnie, buying just one $2 line of numbers and letting the Lottery terminal Quick Pick the numbers.
When the drawing aired live at 11 p.m. on Jan. 13 on WBAL-TV, Wilbur was asleep.
“I had gone to bed early, and I woke up after the drawing and turned on the TV and saw the numbers on the bottom of the screen,” he said. “I saw that one of them was 10, and I said, ‘I know I’ve got 10!’ ”
He then proceeded to check the rest of his ticket. Not only did he have 10 as his red Power Ball number, he also matched four of the white balls.
“I had tears in my eyes,” Wilbur said. “It was great. My brother didn’t believe it.”
The $50,000 prize is by far the most Wilbur has ever won. His previous high was $500 many years ago in a Pick 3 drawing.
Wilbur’s ticket was one of 24 sold in Maryland that won $50,000 in the Jan. 13 Powerball drawing. There were also three $1 million winners and one $100,000 winner in Maryland.