A Virginia man who had never played the Powerball lottery was urged by a friend to buy a ticket and ended up winning $150k in the record-breaking drawing last week.
When the Powerball jackpot reached historic proportions in early November, a friend began urging him to play. Danny Johnson finally decided to purchase a ticket for the November 5 drawing in order to quiet his friend. It was the first time he’d ever played Powerball.
The winning numbers in that drawing were 28-45-53-56-69, and the Powerball number was 20. That ticket ended up winning $150,000.
In addition to matching four of the first five winning numbers, his ticket also matched the Powerball number. That’s normally worth $50,000. However, he spent an extra dollar for Power Play® when he bought the ticket. Power Play® tripled the prize to $150,000.
“I looked at the winning numbers and said, ‘Hey I’ve got a few of those!’” Mr. Johnson told Virginia Lottery officials. “I didn’t know how much I’d won because I never play.”
His ticket was bought online using his phone. You can play Powerball and many other drawing games online with the Virginia Lottery, plus dozens of instant games.
Johnson, who’s retired, doesn’t have any immediate plans for the money. However, he might have a surprise in store for the friend who forced him to buy the ticket.