August 01, 2023

Jonesboro Woman Claims $2 Million Powerball Prize; Mega Millions Jackpot Surges to $1.1 Billion

Little Rock, Ark.

The $2 million Powerball® prize winner from the July 17 drawing claimed her lottery winnings today at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) Claim Center in Little Rock. She is a resident of Jonesboro and has elected to remain anonymous. 

The winning Quick Pick ticket was sold at Jordan’s Kwik Stop #29, 221 Co-Op Drive in Bono. The winning numbers for that night were 5, 8, 9, 17 and 41, with the Powerball being 21. The multiplier was four. 

The player matched the five white balls but didn’t have the Powerball number. However, she increased her $1 million prize to $2 million by including the Power Play® option for an additional $1 per play. The Match 5 prize with Power Play is always $2 million.

The winner was at home when she got the sudden urge to play the lottery the night of the Powerball drawing.   

“I play the lottery a few times a year and saw advertising that the jackpot was really big, so I told my husband that I needed to purchase a ticket,” the winner told lottery officials. 

The Arkansan said she realized she had won big after checking her ticket on the lottery’s website on the same night of the draw, although the player initially thought she had only won a $100,000 prize. 

“My husband was already in bed, but I woke him up to look over the ticket with me,” she said. “We were still unsure of the prize amount, so we called my sister and brother-in-law to double-check the ticket.” 

She was stunned when the duo confirmed her Powerball ticket actually showed a $2 million prize.

“It was unbelievable! My husband and I haven’t gotten any real sleep since that night,” she chuckled.

The couple said they plan to pay off their house and purchase new family vehicles with the lottery prize. They would also like to buy a home on Spring River in Hardy and start planning for early retirement. 

For other lottery players hoping to follow in her footsteps, the winner offers a simple piece of advice: play responsibly. “And don’t stop dreaming about winning the lottery,” she added.

Retailers receive a 1 percent commission from the sales of winning lottery products, which means Jordan’s Kwik Stop #29 will receive a $20,000 commission check from ASL for selling the winning ticket.

The Powerball jackpot now stands at $95 million for Wednesday night. The Mega Millions jackpot has also climbed to an estimated $1.1 billion for tonight. If the jackpot is hit, it will be the fourth-largest jackpot win in Mega Millions history. 

For more information on game odds and how to play, visit MyArkansasLottery.com.                                                                                                                   

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions, and other expenses in Arkansas. Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than $1.2 billion in proceeds for scholarships. More than 720,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4.6 billion in prizes to players, about $386 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $167 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit MyArkansasLottery.com for more information on scholarships, winners, games, odds, promotions – and to join The Club for free. To hear winning numbers, call the Winning Numbers Hotline at 501-682-IWON (4966). To get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.