Playing Powerball as a group paid off for Irmtraud Smith of Haughton and five of her coworkers after they claimed a $40,000 Powerball prize from the July 10 drawing.

Smith, who claimed the prize on behalf of coworkers Travis Plater of Shreveport, Rosaline Simon of Shreveport, Jerry Jordan of Haughton, Alanna Kesterson of Shreveport and James Dick of Homer, explained that she and her friends regularly play Powerball as a group. 

The group's ticket matched four of the five white-ball numbers drawn, and the red Powerball number to win $10,000. For an additional $1, the group added the Power Play option to their ticket and multiplied their winnings by four, which was the Power Play multiplier drawn that night. 

Smith purchased the winning ticket from Kimmy's Country Corner on North Elm Street in Haughton.

The winning numbers for the July 10 Powerball drawing were 20-21-27-28-56 and the Powerball number was 04.

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.