BATON ROUGE – Sept. 5, just one day before her 26th birthday, Sarah Hebert of Jennings gave herself a pretty big present; she cashed in a $2 million winning Powerball ticket at Louisiana Lottery headquarters. The winning ticket was purchased in the days leading up to the historic Aug. 23 drawing for the $758.7 million jackpot.  

“I never would have thought I would win!” said Hebert who is works at Tiger Mart in Lake Arthur, where the winning ticket was sold. “I sell tickets all the time, but really only play when the jackpots get high.” The store will receive a one-time selling bonus of $20,000, which is 1 percent of the prize.

Hebert said she plans to invest a portion of her prize for her children aged 2, 4 and 8. She received $1,400,000 after state and federal tax withholdings. Hebert and her boyfriend also plan to “finally” purchase a house.

Hebert won playing the digits of her family’s birthdays. The winning numbers for the Aug. 23, 2017 drawing were 06-07-16-23-26 and the Powerball was 04. The winning ticket matched all five white ball numbers, winning $1 million, but the prize was doubled since Hebert added the $1 Power Play to her ticket.

The Aug. 23 drawing produced more than just this winning Lake Arthur ticket. Other large winning tickets sold in Louisiana included two $200,000 tickets purchased in Hammond and Jonesboro, and three $50,000 tickets purchased in Covington, Thibodaux and Kentwood. The jackpot winning ticket was claimed by a Massachusetts woman. The $758.7 million prize set a lottery record as the largest jackpot prize ever to be won on a single ticket.

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. More information about other Powerball winners can be found on the Lottery’s website, www.louisianalottery.com.