(NEXSTAR) – A woman received the Christmas gift of a lifetime when the ticket her husband gave her netted the lucky couple a $2 million prize.
Unbeknownst to the woman, whom the D.C. Lottery identified only as Pamela V., her husband bought the winning ticket at Capitol Hill Safeway for a Dec. 2 draw. It wasn’t until Christmas Day, however, that the couple found out together just how valuable the present was, officials said.
Not only did the pair match five of the winning numbers – 28, 35, 41, 47, 60 and the Powerball of 3 – netting them $1 million, but the Power Play multiplier was 2X, doubling the purse.
“We are elated to find out we won, it’s life-changing,” Pamela said, according to a lottery news release. “We have kids in college so this will definitely help with college tuition.”
Pamela and her husband said they plan on saving most of the jackpot cash, but may use some of it to pay for a family trip to the Caribbean.
Despite waiting several weeks to check the numbers, the couple had plenty of time to cash in the winning ticket, according to D.C. lottery officials. Powerball prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date.
The win was the greatest in Washington D.C. in 2023, but the biggest ever came in 2009 when someone won a $144 million jackpot, according to lottery officials.
The largest Powerball ever – a whopping $2.04 billion – was recorded in California on Nov. 7, 2022.
