Monroe trainer wins LARGEST jackpot in Easy 5 history

West Monroe resident Norman “Bruce” McDaniel didn’t think his night could get any more exciting after spending the evening at the Ark-La-Miss Fair Sept. 29, but that was before he checked his Louisiana Lottery Easy 5 ticket. McDaniel climbed in his truck to leave just in time to check the newly posted drawing results, which he matched exactly to win the $591,776 jackpot!

“I just thought ‘Thank you Jesus!’” he recalled.

McDaniel knew the jackpot amount was high for the Louisiana game, but discovered while claiming his prize at Lottery headquarters that he was the sole winner of the largest jackpot in the game’s history.  “That blows my mind!” he responded excitedly.

The winner currently trains boxers of all ages and officiates matches, but previously competed for 30 years. “At 63, I’m the oldest official in the state,” he stated proudly.

McDaniel also has played the same numbers, since the game’s launch, but on Sept. 29 he decided to change it up a bit.

“I took my playslip, turned it upside down and filled out the numbers in the pattern my usual play makes,” McDaniel said. The results were the jackpot-winning numbers 3-15-27-32-33. “At first, I thought I only matched two, because I was thinking about my usual numbers,” he explained.

The jackpot-winning ticket was purchased at Sai U Pak It in Monroe. The store will receive a one-time selling bonus of $5,917.76, which is 1 percent of the prize.

After state and federal tax withholdings, McDaniel received $420,160.96. He described his plans for his winnings, “I’m not going to go crazy, but I might go to a (Major League Baseball) play-off or world-series game.” In addition, he said he would level his home and rebuild, plus buy a “nice” present for his daughter who was married the weekend following his win.