Christmas comes early for Kentucky man who bought a big winning Powerball ticket

This year has shaped up to be a very happy holiday indeed for one Kentucky man with a winning Powerball ticket.

The Radcliff man, who asked Kentucky Lottery officials to withhold his name, recently claimed a $1 million Powerball prize on the game’s Dec. 20 drawing.

A Friday release from the organization said he was checking his ticket when he noticed it matched the five white ball numbers from the most recent drawing. In addition, there was another $7 win on the same ticket, the lottery said.

“I checked the ticket with my glasses on and I checked it with my glasses off to make sure I was seeing it right,” he said.

The winning Powerball numbers for the Dec. 20 drawing were 27, 35, 41, 56, 60 and Powerball 16.

Powerball, an extremely popular progressive jackpot in many states, tasks players with selecting numbers to match five white balls and the red Powerball. You can also allow the computer to select the numbers at random for you. Plays cost $2, and for an additional $1, you can opt for the Power Play to multiply winnings other than the jackpot grand prize.

Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and a match to all six balls wins you the rolling jackpot.

With a match to the five white balls this week, the Kentucky man secured the second largest prize, $1 million. The odds of the million-dollar win are 1 in 11,688,053.52, according to Powerball.

A Kentucky man won $1 million with this Powerball ticket Dec. 20 after he matched the five white balls.

He gave his wife a call at work to surprise her with the news.

“I told her, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack,’” he told Kentucky Lottery officials per the release.

When she offered to call for help, “I told her, ‘No, I think I won the lottery. We just won a million dollars!”

After taxes, the couple took home a check for $715,005 and told lottery officials they plan to pay off their home and purchase one for their son, as well.

“It sure is a merry Christmas,” the man’s wife said, according to the release.

The retailer that sold the winning Powerball ticket, the Walmart on Gateway Crossing Boulevard in Radcliff, is also a winner, getting a $10,000 bonus for the sale.

The next Powerball drawing is set for Saturday night, with the progressive jackpot at an estimated $620 million with a cash value of $310.8 million.

If you or someone you know has a problem gambling, help is available at 1-800-522-4700.

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