Kicking off the new year with a bang, a $1 million Powerball prize was claimed under the name EDR Trust of St. Tammany Parish yesterday at Louisiana Lottery headquarters. The big winning ticket was purchased in Slidell for the Nov. 18, 2017 drawing.

“We just didn’t believe it!” the trust’s beneficiary exclaimed about the moment he discovered the $1 million win. “I went into a retailer to check about 20 tickets and the clerk got very quiet and told me I needed to sign my ticket right then and cash it at Lottery headquarters. Then we just went about our night out looking at Christmas lights.”

The winning ticket was purchased at RaceTrac Petroleum #380 in Slidell. The store will receive a one-time bonus of $10,000, which is 1 percent of the prize, for selling the million-dollar ticket.

The ticket matched all five white-ball numbers to earn the big prize. The EDR Trust received $700,000 after state and federal tax withholdings. The trust beneficiaries said they plan to use the windfall to build a pool.

The Lottery has had more than 70 million-dollar winning Powerball tickets and 16 Powerball jackpot-winning tickets sold in Louisiana since joining the multistate game in 1995. 

Lottery 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 Powerball and other jackpot winners can be found on the Lottery’s website, www.louisianalottery.com/powerball.