Powerball Prize Claimed By Executive Who Won Stanley Cup

He had only gone into the Harris Teeter store on Kings Mill Lane for groceries, but noticed the jackpot for the Powerball drawing on July 27th was $75 million and decided to play. He asked for five Easy Pick entries, where the numbers are generated at random, and didn’t think much about it until the numbers came in.

Kocharov didn’t quite land the top prize, but one of his tickets did match all five main numbers - 1, 19, 31, 48 and 61, just missing out on the Powerball of 6. The result meant that he was instantly a millionaire and left him feeling ecstatic.

Speaking to the Virginia Lottery when he came forward to claim his prize, Kocharov, who lives in Annandale, recalled: “I saw the Powerball sign and said, ‘I may as well try it’. I was surprised (to win). I always hear about jackpot wins. It feels great.”

It has been quite an 18 months for Kocharov, after the Capitals won the Stanley Cup for the first time in their history in 2018. He has been with the team since 2010 and certainly has no intention of giving up his job now despite winning $1 million.

He has not revealed yet how he plans to spend the money, but it appears he may be ready to part with some of it after being challenged to a tennis match by TV sports reporter Scott Abraham. Replying to a tweet from Abraham where he was asked if he would be willing to wager any of his winnings, Kocharov also took the opportunity to pay tribute to his father.

He tweeted: “On for tennis match this week for sure -but let it be known that this idea was all from my old man (I never play Lol) who was in town for four days and left a happy man. Couldn’t be more happier for my dad - the hardest working family man and my role model. Be at work tomorrow.”

Winner’s Bonus For Lucky Retailer

Kocharov is not the only one who will benefit from his big win, as the Harris Teeter store will receive a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery for selling the lucky ticket. Every time a Powerball ticket is sold in Virginia, it helps to support education in the state, with more than $1.7 million generated for K-12 public schools per day.

The Powerball jackpot currently stands at $138 million ahead of Wednesday night’s drawing, having not been won since a ticket holder from Tennessee scooped $198 million on July 13th. The player used a trust to protect their anonymity, waiting three weeks to claim their prize.

The largest jackpot to be given away this year remains the $768 million that Manuel Franco from Wisconsin won on March 27th. He described it as ‘unbelievable’ that an ordinary guy like him could win so much, and announced that he wanted to help the world.

Stories such as Franco’s and Kocharov’s show that anyone can win, and you just have to take part to give yourself a chance. Once you have played, find the latest winning numbers after every draw.