As the Powerball jackpot grew to more than $1 billion earlier this month, a Missouri couple traveling for a weekend getaway decided to buy tickets at stops along their route to Branson. The result was a winning ticket worth $50,000 – purchased at On the Run, 101 Highway B in St. James – for the July 15 drawing.
“My husband and I went to Branson for a mini vacation, just to get away,” the winner shared. “We saw the Powerball growing and thought we’d buy some tickets.”
It was a fun idea, but the couple didn’t realize they had won until they’d returned home. In fact, as the prize was claimed at the Missouri Lottery’s St. Louis regional office, the winner said she wasn’t sure which stop on their journey produced the winning ticket.
“We were enjoying our vacation,” she said. “Saturday and Sunday, I didn’t even check the tickets. I didn’t know until, I think, Tuesday.”
When she did finally check their tickets, she saw a message she said made it hard to breathe.
“The third ticket I scanned said, ‘Winning ticket, claim at Lottery,’ and I was like, ‘Well, wait a minute. I know that means it’s over $600,” she explained. “I’ve played the Powerball for years, and I know there’s no $600 winner, so it has to be a lot.”
After checking the numbers again with her husband, she sought confirmation from other family members.
“I called my mom, my sister, my brother. We’re all on Face Time, and I’m going, ‘Are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?’” she laughed.
To her relief, they did, and she now has plans to get a larger vehicle and enjoy more vacation time with her winnings.
The winning numbers in the July 15 Powerball drawing were 2, 9, 43, 55 and 57, with a Powerball of 18. The $50,000 prize was won by matching four of the five white-ball numbers, along with the Powerball number.
In FY22, players in Phelps County, where the winning ticket was sold, won more than $9.4 million in prizes, and retailers received more than $833,000 in commissions and bonuses for selling Missouri Lottery tickets. More than $3 million of Lottery proceeds also went to education programs in the county.
