A lucky Powerball player in Katy, Texas, may be walking a little taller this morning, thanks to a $2 million windfall from Wednesday night's drawing. The ticket, sold at Timewise Food Store #295 on the Katy Freeway near Ernestes, matched all five of the white ball numbers - 4, 11, 38, 51, 68 - but missed the Powerball number of 5. What made the win even more lucrative was the Power Play option, doubling the base prize from $1 million to a cool $2 million, as confirmed by Texas lottery officials and reported by FOX 26 Houston.
While the jackpot reached an eye-watering $707.2 million at the time of the draw, making it the ninth-largest in Powerball history, no one hit the grand prize, leading to an even bigger estimated $760 million for Saturday's drawing, the last of the year. This ticket sold in the Houston area becomes part of the storied high-stake dreams that Powerball spreads across the nation, as noted by Texas lottery officials and reported by KHOU.
As the jackpot rolls over, "This is a fun time to get into the game, especially over the holidays when you can dream big with family and friends," said Powerball Product Group Chair Drew Svitko, according to a statement referred by FOX 26 Houston. Winning the lottery is a long shot, with the odds of taking home the jackpot standing at 1 in 292.2 million. The game hasn't seen a jackpot winner since a ticket in California won $1.76 billion on October 11.
For those who are betting on luck, Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern. After Wednesday's drawing failed to find a jackpot winner, now the stakes are even higher. Desperate to break the cycle of jackpot-less draws, participants are eyeing the $760 million prize as quoted by Powerball officials and detailed by KHOU. If there's a winner, they'll have the option to take a smaller cash payout, which was estimated at $355.9 million for this past draw.
Meanwhile, the luckiest amongst us have 180 days from the draw date to claim their prize, so check your tickets, Katy residents – someone's holiday season just got a $2 million shot in the arm.
