August 17, 2012 – Mark Davies of Bennington recently won $2 million playing Nebraska Powerball with Power Play.
With a record $337 million jackpot up for grabs in the Wednesday, August 15 Powerball drawing, Davies stopped at Hy-Vee Gas, 3404 North 156th Street in Omaha to purchase a ticket. His five-play quick pick ticket contained one play that matched all five of the winning white ball numbers (6, 27, 46, 51, 56) from the August 15 drawing.
With a regular Powerball ticket, matching five white ball numbers results in a $1 million prize. Because Davies added the $1 Power Play option to his purchase, the $1 million prize was automatically increased to $2 million. This is the first $2 million Power Play winning ticket sold in Nebraska since Powerball was upgraded on January 15.
Davies wasted no time in claiming the prize, arriving at Nebraska Lottery headquarters on the day after the drawing. He told Nebraska Lottery officials that buying the winning ticket was an impulse purchase. “I called my wife and asked her to pick up a ticket, but she was busy, so I just ran to the store myself,” said Davies. “I’d never purchased a ticket with Power Play before. It really paid off.”
Davies’ winning ticket was also very close to winning the Powerball jackpot. “I was only one number away from winning it all,” said Davies. The Powerball number drawn was 21, and the Powerball number on Davies’ winning play was 22. He plans to pay bills and save for his children’s education using the prize money.
The odds of winning $1 million playing Powerball are 1 in 5,153,633. Adding the $1 Power Play option, which does not affect the odds of winning, gives players the chance to play for enhanced prizes from $12 to $2 million. The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 31.8.
