Baton Rouge Man Claims $800,000 Powerball Prize

Charles Thomas Jr., of Baton Rouge kept a big secret from his wife, Mae - he visited Louisiana Lottery headquarters to claim an $800,000 Powerball prize from the Oct. 15 drawing.

"I haven't told her yet. I'm going to surprise her tonight," said Thomas. "She usually doesn't pay attention to me when I tell her I win on Lottery games because it's usually only a few dollars. I think this time will be different."

Thomas said he plans to use some of his winnings to purchase a new wheelchair accessible van for his church, which caters to services for the deaf.

Thomas' ticket matched all five white-ball numbers to win $200,000. Because he added the Power Play option to his ticket for an additional $1, his prize was multiplied by four when the Power Play number "4" was selected during the drawing, bringing his total winnings to $800,000. 

He purchased his winning ticket from Albertson's #2713 on George O'Neal Lane in Baton Rouge. The store will receive a one-time bonus of $8,000 for selling the winning ticket.

The winning numbers for the Oct. 15 Powerball drawing were 03-13-32-38-48 and the Powerball was 13.

Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. The Lottery encourages anyone who may have a gambling problem or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem to call toll free 1-877-770-7867 for help.

For security purposes, the Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets immediately after purchasing.