The Kentucky Lottery added the Double Play option for Powerball players in the state in November 2023. Now, less than a year later, the state has its first $10 million Double Play winner!
Habits sometimes pay off
The Kentucky resident, who wished to remain anonymous, recently came forward to claim their $10 million prize from the June 24 drawing.
The winning Double Play numbers for that drawing were 1, 31, 33, 54, and 60, and the Powerball number was 26. The winning ticket matched all six of the numbers in the Double Play drawing to win the $10 million top prize.
The lucky winner told lottery officials they are a “creature of habit” and will “purchase my tickets before I go to work.” When they were purchasing their tickets, they noticed the lottery vending machine gave them the option of adding the Double Play feature.
“I didn't start playing it right away,” the winner said. Creature of habit and all, remember? It took them about four months before they finally started adding the Double Play to their Powerball tickets. “It just popped up on the screen to add it, and I thought, 'I think I'll try,'” the winner said. “I'm sure glad I did!”
Retirement, here they come!
The morning after the drawing, the winner found out they had the winning ticket.
The winner told lottery officials:
I got up and checked my phone, and it said somebody had won the Powerball. I said, “Oh my gosh,” and it said, “Double Play,” and I was like, “Oh my gosh.” I wrote the numbers down, and I went and got my ticket. I looked at my ticket and looked at the numbers, and I said, “Really, I can't believe this.”
The winner said they were overwhelmed and excited after it finally sunk in that they were the big winner. They said, “Now I can retire!”
Making smart choices
The lucky winner then made some smart choices. They took a few weeks to seek financial and legal assistance before claiming their winnings. After doing so, they made their way to the lottery headquarters and claimed their prize.
After taxes, they walked away with $7.2 million. They told lottery officials they are looking forward to retiring and being able to do some traveling.
The winner offered some advice to any lottery players out there: “Buy Double Play, you have better chances of winning.”
The winning lottery retailer
The lucky winner purchased the winning ticket from Circle K, located off Hwy. 22 in Crestwood. For selling the winning ticket, the store received a $100,000 selling bonus, which they were ecstatic to be part of this lucky player's journey.
Gayle Hughes, Circle K's Regional Director of Operations, said:
At Circle K, we are dedicated to offering products, services, and programs that make our customers' lives a little easier every day. We are proud to be an authorized Kentucky Lottery retailer. It's a way to make the store experience for our customers even more fun and exciting. We couldn't be happier that one of our valued customers has won 'such a big prize' of $10 million after buying a Powerball Double Play ticket in our Crestwood area store.
Enjoy playing the Kentucky Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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