Persistent Powerball player has been trying his luck for 20 years — it finally paid off
For two decades, a Colorado man has been playing Powerball.
He’s never won more than $500, though, according to Colorado Lottery officials.
So, when the man, identified by the lottery as James S. of Parachute, went to check his ticket for the game’s July 8 drawing, he was “shocked” — he matched all five white balls, just missing the Powerball.
He claimed his $1 million prize on July 18, officials said.
He plans to use his winnings to help renovate “his 1930s home just a bit faster,” lottery officials said.
Parachute is about 200 miles southwest of Denver.
What to know about Powerball
To score a jackpot in the Powerball game, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.
After “no ticket matched all six numbers drawn” on Monday, July 17, the jackpot soared to $1 billion, one of the highest jackpots in Powerball history, according to a July 18 Powerball news release.
“This has turned into a historic jackpot run; this is only the third time in Powerball’s 31-year history that a jackpot has reached the billion-dollar threshold,” Drew Svitko, Pennsylvania Lottery’s executive director, said in the release.
The highest Powerball jackpot on record was claimed by California winner Edwin Castro, who won $2.04 billion in November.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Persistent Powerball player has been trying his luck for 20 years — it finally paid off."
