Arnaudville Man Claims $1 Million Powerball Prize

April 22, 2016

Man smiles with oversized check in front of a golden background

Life just got a little bit sweeter for Ricky LeGrange of Arnaudville after he won a $1 million Powerball prize from the Aug. 1 drawing. The 51-year-old father of two claimed his prize at Lottery headquarters in Baton Rouge Thursday.

"My coworkers told me someone in Arnaudville won $1 million on Powerball from Wednesday's drawing so I walked out to my truck to check my ticket. I looked at it over and over again, and I just couldn't believe it," an excited LeGrange said.

A regular Louisiana Lottery player, LaGrange participates in his office pool and often purchases his own tickets. When asked if he plans to continue playing the Lottery, there was no doubt. "Definitely! I don't want to get left out of my office pool," he replied with a chuckle.

As for his immediate post-winning plans, LeGrange would like to take his family on a nice vacation. He also plans to pay off his house and truck.

The winning ticket matched all five white ball numbers, but missed the red Powerball number, to win $1 million. The winning numbers were 03-16-48-56-58 and the Powerball number was 4. LaGrange received $700,000 after state and federal taxes were withheld.

LaGrange purchased his winning ticket at Guidry's Food Store in Arnaudville. The store will receive a bonus of $10,000, which is 1 percent of the prize, for selling the winning ticket.

The Powerball game underwent several enhancements in January to create bigger jackpots, more millionaires and better odds of winning. In addition to a price increase to $2 per play, the game's "match-5" prize, which LaGrange won, quadrupled from $200,000 to $1 million.

Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. Draw-style game tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. Anyone who may have a gambling problem, or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem should 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.