A last-minute purchase in Theodosia won a Powerball player a $50,000 prize – but she wasn’t aware of the win until seeing a post on the Missouri Lottery’s Facebook page.
As the winner claimed her prize at the Lottery’s regional office in Springfield, she explained the story behind the lucky purchase.
“It was 7 o’clock, and my husband and I realized we hadn’t bought our Powerball tickets yet. The jackpot had just gone over $1 billion,” she recalled. “We ran into a grocery store (Cash Saver Pantry located on 160 Highway in Theodosia) and bought tickets. I always use the Quick Pick option.”
One of her tickets matched four of the five white-ball numbers drawn, plus the Powerball in the Oct. 2 drawing. The winning numbers were 12, 26, 27, 43 and 47, with a Powerball number of 5.
She explained they usually wait a while before checking their tickets, but the Lottery’s Facebook post caught her attention.
“I saw something on Facebook that the grocery store I’d stopped at had sold a $50,000 winning ticket, so I pulled my ticket out and opened up the Missouri Lottery app and checked the numbers.
“Then I checked the numbers again and again and yelled at my husband, ‘Look at this, look at this! Check this for me!’” she laughed.
She shared plans to use the winnings to pay off their house.
Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $173 million.
Players who purchased tickets in Ozark County in FY23 won more than $1.7 million in total Missouri Lottery prizes. Retailers in the county received more than $183,000 in commissions and bonuses, and education programs received more than $156,000 in appropriated Lottery proceeds.
