Powerball player learns from the news someone won huge prize in Missouri. It was him

A Powerball player nearly threw his ticket in the trash — until he saw the news.

The man saw in a news story that a $1 million Powerball winning ticket was sold at a convenience store in Taylor, Missouri — where he had purchased a ticket Oct. 26, according to Missouri Lottery officials.

“I was actually about to throw it away,” the man told lottery officials in a Nov. 12 news release. “And then I thought maybe I should check this one.”

It was a good thing he kept the ticket, as he was the winner of the $1 million prize. His ticket matched the five white balls of the Oct. 26 drawing — 8, 12, 40, 45 and 51.

Had he matched the Powerball number of 15 he would have won the day’s estimated jackpot of $20 million.

The $1 million win was still enough for the winner to be “floored.” And so was his wife.

“I was in shock,” the wife told lottery officials. “I actually thought he was joking!”

Taylor is about a 135-mile drive northwest from St. Louis.

What to know about Powerball

To score the jackpot in the Powerball, 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 can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.

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 November 12, 2024 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Powerball player learns from the news someone won huge prize in Missouri. It was him."