:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(599x0:601x2)/John-Stokes-family-powerball-09525-78d3da1346304ef2b27a8b7d1a693891.jpg?ssl=1 "Family Misses .1 Billion Powerball Jackpot by a Single Number")
NEED TO KNOW
- A Louisiana family missed the $1.1 billion Powerball jackpot by a single number for the Sept. 1 drawing
- However, they still won a sizable prize: $150,000
- “We were shocked and feel so blessed,” John Stokes said of his family’s winnings
A Louisiana family came so close to winning the $1.1 billion Powerball jackpot after matching all but a single number on their ticket — but they didn’t walk away empty-handed.
Father of three John Stokes of DeRidder purchased a Powerball ticket for the Sept. 1 drawing, with his sights set on the massive top prize, according to a news release from the Louisiana Lottery. After the night’s winning numbers were revealed, he saw that he had correctly matched four of the white ball numbers and the red Powerball number.
He also had added the Power Play option on his ticket, which tripled his winnings. While he didn’t score the $1.1 billion jackpot, he did win $150,000.
Stokes told the Louisiana Lottery that he purchased the ticket on Sept. 1 from Billie’s Wag-A-Bag, LLC in DeRidder due to its “convenient location.” He and his family were about to go to bed that night when they decided to check the winning numbers.
“We were shocked and feel so blessed,” Stokes said when he and his family came to the lottery’s Alexandria regional office to claim their winnings on Sept. 2.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty
“We always love seeing our loyal players, like Mr. Stokes, win big,” Rose Hudson, president of the Louisiana Lottery, said in a statement. “We are excited to see more Louisiana winners come forward during this exciting and historic Powerball Jackpot run.”
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As of Friday, Sept. 5, the Powerball jackpot had increased to $1.8 billion, making it the second-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history, behind the world-record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California on Nov. 7, 2022, according to Powerball.
The next Powerball drawing will take place on Saturday, Sept. 6, and will be broadcast live at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee, Fla. The Powerball drawing will also be livestreamed on Powerball.com.
In a story similar to the Stokes’, a North Carolina man missed the Powerball jackpot, then worth $1 billion, in the Aug. 30 drawing by just one number.
However, since he did correctly match the numbers on four of the five white balls, along with the red Powerball, he won $50,000. That prize tripled to $150,000 because he had purchased a Power Play ticket.
