PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A Portsmouth man didn’t know that spending an extra dollar would make him $100,000 richer following a recent Powerball drawing.
Roy Williamson of Portsmouth stopped by the Exxon gas station in Chesapeake and bought a Powerball ticket. He used the “Easy Pick” method and allowed the computer to randomly select the numbers on his ticket.
After the December 19 drawing, he knew he had matched some numbers, but he didn’t realize just how many numbers.
“I thought I’d won $200,” he said. “I just knew he was joking.”
Williamson exclaimed thinking the store clerk was playing a trick on him.
The winning numbers in that drawing were 27-32-34-43-52, and the Powerball number was 13.
Williamson matched four numbers plus the Powerball number in the December 19 drawing. Normally, that would win $50,000. However, he spent an extra dollar for Power Play when he bought the ticket.
That extra buck doubled his prize to $100,000.
“I almost fainted!” he later told Virginia Lottery officials.
Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25.