Tennesseans Win Big In Powerball
A family from Tennessee struck it lucky in Saturday’s Powerball draw as they headed on vacation. Unknown to them, they had won $2 million on a ticket bought at the last minute. It was revealed shortly after the draw that the winning ticket was bought at Tobacco Superstore on Navy Road in Millington, Shelby County, and a manager at the store has described how an employee spoke to the ticket holders about the incredible win.
Regular Shoppers Win Big
Nancy Graves said the Tobacco Superstore sees plenty of lottery-winning tickets, but none as big as the $2 million ticket played on Saturday. Speaking about the moment an employee called the winners to congratulate them, Graves said: “They’re just kind of freaking out. First he said it was the same, like me, they didn’t believe, just in disbelief.
“I hope they do something good with this, at least something small for themselves,” she added.
The winners are said to be a couple from Millington who regularly shop at the store, and they were heading out on vacation when they bought the lucky ticket. “Apparently, the people that won were going out of town and they’d swung by here and they just picked it up last minute,” Graves said. The store is set to receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the ticket.
The winning numbers from the Powerball draw on Saturday August 18th were 24, 34, 52, 61, and 67, with Powerball 16. Tennessee’s newest winners matched five numbers to pick up a starting prize of $1 million, and they opted in to the Power Play to double their winnings to a cool $2 million. No more information about the winners will be revealed until they claim their prize from Tennessee Lottery headquarters. They have 180 days from the date of the draw to claim. If they do not come forward in this time, the money will help to fund education programs across the state.
About Tennessee Lotteries
Lotteries in the state are operated by the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation (TELC), an organization that was formed in June 2003, after the state constitution was amended in November 2002 to allow lottery games. TELC is now a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), so offers the two biggest lotteries in the U.S.: Powerball and Mega Millions.
Since it was created, the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation has provided over $4.6 billion for education initiatives across the state, including everything from after-school programs to college scholarships. Roughly 42 cents from every dollar spent on Powerball tickets in the state goes towards these causes, and money from unclaimed prizes is also allocated to the fund. In addition, players can register for TELC’s Charitable Allocation Program, whereby they can choose to donate a specific amount or 5 percent of any winnings over $5,000 to a charity registered with the program.
Some of the education programs that TELC has contributed to include the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship, which provides college tuition to qualifying students, the Helping Heroes Grant, which provides support for honorably discharged veterans getting back into postsecondary education, and Tennessee Reconnect, which helps adults to enter higher education “to gain new skills, advance in the workplace, and fulfill lifelong dreams of completing a degree or credential.”
Page Last Updated: 8/21/2018 10:15:01 AM ET
