Kentucky man has close brush with $1.3B Powerball jackpot, but still snags huge win
A Harrodsburg man, who according to Kentucky Lottery officials wishes to remain anonymous, nearly won the April 6 Powerball jackpot, at the time worth $1.3 billion.
The man matched four of the five white ball numbers and the red Powerball, but ultimately missed the game’s top prize and instead won $50,000.
Instead, the record $1.3 billion jackpot — the fourth largest in the game’s history — went to a player in Oregon.
The winning numbers for that drawing were 22, 27, 44, 52, 69 and Powerball 9.
“The only number I missed was 44, I had 48 so I was just off by four,” the man said, according to a Thursday Kentucky Lottery news release.
After taxes, the man took home a check worth $36,000. The Kroger on South College Street in Harrodsburg will get $500 for selling the winning ticket.
The Harrodsburg man was one of three players in Kentucky who won big on the April 6 drawing. A Paducah convenience store happened to sell two winning tickets worth $150,000 each for the same drawing.
Powerball players have to match all five white ball numbers and the red Powerball to win the game’s top prize. According to the Kentucky Lottery, the odds of doing that are 1 in 292,201,338.
Players can win $1 million, the game’s second prize, if they match all five white ball numbers, but not the red Powerball. The third-place prize of $50,000 goes to players who match four white ball numbers and the Powerball.
The Powerball jackpot, as of Thursday, stands at an estimated $149 million. The next drawing is set to take place at 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Saturday.
Do you or a loved one have a gambling problem? Help is available. Call the National Problem Gambling helpline at 1-800-GAMBLER.
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