C. Goettsch of Lowell recently claimed a $50,000 prize for the March 16 Powerball® drawing. She claimed her prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center on March 20.

The winning ticket was purchased via the Jackpocket mobile app, and the winning numbers were 12, 23, 44, 57 and 61, with the Powerball number being 5. The multiplier was 2.

The win came as a surprise to Goettsch, who rarely ever plays lottery games and purchased the winning ticket on a whim.

“I got paid, and I thought, ‘Eh, I’ll get a lottery ticket,’” she said.

Preferring draw games over scratch-offs, the Lowell woman typically buys either Mega Millions® or Powerball tickets. With the last Mega Millions draw for the week already completed, Goettsch purchased a Powerball ticket.

The Lowell woman awoke the morning after the draw to a congratulatory email saying she was a “big winner.”

“Oh, this is a scam,” Goettsch thought.

Wary of clicking links in her email, the woman rushed to the Jackpocket app to confirm. The email was no scam: she matched four out of five winning numbers, plus the Powerball number, and won a $50,000 prize.

“It’s still not real,” she shared with lottery officials. “It hasn’t set in yet.”

So far, Goettsch has only told her husband, two of her best friends and her children about the win. Her children remain unaware of the prize amount.

With her prize money, the Lowell woman plans to pay off some bills. She will still occasionally play lottery games in the future.

Another Arkansan, Jimmy S. of Romance, won a $20,000 prize in the March 19 Mega Millions drawing. He claimed his prize on March 21.

The winning ticket was sold at Doublebees #126 on 2620 W. Beebe-Capps in Searcy. The winning numbers were 24, 46, 49, 62 and 66, with the Megaball® number being 7. The multiplier was 2.

Jimmy, who has played lottery games for 30 years, purchased the winning ticket as part of his usual routine. With a long-held preference for draw games, he bought a single Quick Pick Mega Millions ticket. He discovered his $20,000 win the morning after the drawing.

“I got up, drank my coffee and almost choked,” he said.

Shocked, Jimmy “checked, rechecked and rechecked” his ticket before showing it to his brother to confirm.

With his prize, Jimmy intends to move to Montana, where his son resides.

Though happy with his win, Jimmy laments being only one number away from the jackpot. He has resolved to continue playing lottery games, hoping for another big prize.

“I’m not dead yet!” he said. “If I’m supposed to hit it, the Lord will let me hit it.”

The jackpots for both Powerball and Mega Millions have skyrocketed. The Powerball jackpot rises to $750 million for Saturday night following Wednesday night's drawing. The Mega Millions jackpot is $977 million for the Friday night drawing.

For more information about lottery games and how to play, visit MyArkansasLottery.com.

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) creates winning people, winning futures, and winning moments. Since 2009, the ASL has sold over $7.2 billion and returned more than $1.3 billion for scholarships to benefit Arkansas students. More than 720,000 college scholarships distributed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4.9 billion in prizes to players, more than $409 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $175 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 get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

About Jackpocket 

Jackpocket is on a mission to create a more convenient, fun and responsible way to participate in the lottery. The first licensed third-party lottery app in the United States, Jackpocket provides an easy, secure way to order official state lottery tickets. Jackpocket is currently available in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas, Washington DC and West Virginia, and is expanding to many new markets. Download the app on iOS and Android or order tickets via desktop. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Lowell resident C. Goettsch won $50,000 playing Powerball.

Jimmy S. of Romance claimed a $20,000 Mega Millions prize.