11/29/2012 - 3:33 PM

Louisiana Lottery Players Win Big on Record Powerball Draw Night

Yesterday was a lucky night for thousands of Louisiana Lottery players. For starters, more than 171,000 Powerball players will cash in on prizes won in the record $587.5 million Powerball drawing on Nov. 28, including one $1 million Match-5 winner, for a total of more than $2.1 million in Powerball prize money. What's more, the $250,000 Lotto jackpot and $179,375 Easy 5 jackpots were both won last night.

Two winning Powerball tickets, one sold in Arizona and the other in Missouri, will split the jackpot, which is the largest in Powerball history and has a cash value of $384.7 million. The winning numbers were 5-16-22-23-29 and the Powerball number was 6.

Louisiana's $1 million-winning Powerball ticket was purchased at Winn Dixie #1353 in Slidell, matching all five white ball numbers but missing the red Powerball number. The store will receive a bonus of $10,000, which is one percent of the prize, for selling the ticket.

In addition, there was a $40,000 winning Powerball with Power Play ticket purchased at Food Fast #1088 in Shreveport. It matched four of the five white ball numbers and the red Powerball number to win. The Power Play option, added to the play for an additional $1, increased the prize from $10,000 to $40,000.

Louisiana also had a dozen $10,000 winners, who matched four out of five white ball numbers and the red Powerball number. The tickets were purchased at the following locations:

-Baton Rouge: Raceway #6730
-Hammond: RaceTrac #679
-Harvey: Brothers Food Mart #125
-Lafayette: Rena Chevron
-Monroe: University U-Pak-It (1) and Circle K #7771 (1)
-New Orleans: Price Busters
-Schriever: Go-Bears #20
-Slidell: Ponchartrain Drive Food Mart (1) and Kangaroo Express #3741 (1)
-Tallulah: U-Pak-It of Tallulah
-Vinton: Longhorn Truck & Car Plaza

In the lead up to Wednesday's drawing, which captivated the nation, more than $11.5 million worth of Powerball tickets were sold in Louisiana for the four days beginning Sunday, Nov. 25. Louisiana Lottery sales for the entire jackpot run, which began Oct. 4, totaled a whopping $28 million.

In addition to Powerball prizes, one $250,000 jackpot-winning Lotto ticket was sold for the Nov. 28 drawing. It was purchased at Siegen Super Stop in Baton Rouge, which will receive a $2,500 bonus for selling the ticket. There was also a $179,375 jackpot-winning Easy 5 ticket Wednesday night; that ticket was purchased at Quick Way #3 in Amite, which will receive a $1,793 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Players should sign the back of their ticket immediately after purchasing for security purposes and treat their tickets like cash. After the drawing, winners have 180 days to claim their prizes. Louisiana Lottery retailers are required to pay prizes of $50 or less and are strongly encouraged to pay prizes of up to $600. Prizes of more than $600 must be claimed at a Lottery office; Powerball prizes of more than $510,000 and Lotto jackpots must be claimed at the Lottery's headquarters in Baton Rouge.

By law, thirty-five percent of all Louisiana Lottery proceeds are transferred to the state treasury and dedicated for K-12 public education. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, the Lottery transferred $35.9 million to the state, up 5.6 percent from 2012 and exceeding budgeted transfers by more than $2.5 million.

Lottery ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. The Lottery encourages players to play responsibly and reminds players that help for those with gambling problems is available by calling 1-877-770-7867.