Another matching number would have made for a massive firehouse celebration in Hagerstown, but, as one of the winners said, a $50,000 third-tier Powerball prize was “better than nothing at all!”
Back in December when the Powerball jackpot was in the $1 billion range, the number of firefighters at the Hagerstown Regional Airport Station 35 increased from about four to 16 people. Hopes were high they would match all six numbers and each would walk away with a life-changing amount of money.
Instead, they matched four of the first five balls drawn plus the red Powerball for the third-tier win. Split 16 ways, and after tax withholding, the net for each winner is right around two grand.
Though a $1 billion-plus jackpot split 16 ways would have been life changing, the two representatives of Station 35 who brought the paperwork to Lottery headquarters Feb. 26 to claim for the group said there’s a solid chance the first responders would have continued in their chosen profession.
“Once it’s in your blood, it’s not something you walk away from,” one of them said. He went on to explain he once resigned from the job, but ended up going back to it a few months later.
The winning ticket was purchased at Love’s Travel Stop at 18434 Showalter Road in Hagerstown.
Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The estimated annuity value of the jackpot for the next Powerball drawing, Saturday night, is $110.9 million.
