$100 Powerball Win Turns out to be $50,000

Sometimes when you look at your lottery ticket, you don’t know quite how much it has won. That happened to a lucky player from Maryland, USA. He believed his Powerball ticket had won $100 but it was in fact a $50,000 winner.

His good luck came in the Powerball draw held on May 3. The lucky winner has asked to remain anonymous but we do know he’s an accountant. He has spoken to the Maryland Lottery so we know a few more details about his miscalculation.

Describing himself as a “loyal” player of the Powerball draw, the 70-year-old bought his winning ticket from the Giant grocery store in Silver Spring. He didn’t see the draw live but checked his ticket the following day.

It had matched three of the main numbers and the Powerball.  How much had he won though? “In my mind, I’m thinking it’s a $100 win,” he recalled. How wrong he was!

The winning Powerball ticket was taken to a lottery retailer. Only winning $100, he thought his win would be paid out in cash. A major surprise was on its way though.

Confusion

Soon he began to realize what a mistake had been made. The ticket scanner said that he needed to see the cashier and that left the accountant confused. Why would matching three balls and the Powerball require him to see the cashier?

How many?

He’d made a major mistake when first looking at his Powerball ticket. It had in fact matched four of the main balls, not three. That extra ball being matched meant he’d won the third-tier prize of $50,000 not $100,

Hopefully he’s a bit more attentive in his day job. The surprised Powerball winner does know how to take care of money though. Most of his $50,000 win will be put into his savings account.. He will treat himself though and a holiday is being planned.

The next Powerball draw is on Saturday May 20. There is a $162.8 million jackpot on the line. The cash value of that is $86.8 million.

Get your Powerball tickets from Lottery24.