Ponchatoula Residents Held the Easy 5 Jackpot Winning Ticket from the Sept. 2 drawing

Long lines plus one dollar added up to $328,253 for long-time Lottery players Donna Majesty and Roy Hoover of Ponchatoula, who held the jackpot winning ticket from the Sept. 2 Easy 5 drawing.

"I have always believed that I was going to win the Louisiana Lottery, but I'm still floored," shared Majesty. As they joyfully laughed, Hoover agreed but added, "I just want my dollar back from her, since she wasn't going to buy an Easy 5 ticket until I told her to."

The day of the drawing, Hoover, age 60, picked up Majesty from work and drove her to a nearby gas station where they regularly play Lottery games. "There were too many people at the store, so we decided to go to a convenience store closer to home," Majesty noted.

Just before heading into the store, Hoover handed her cash to also purchase tickets for Easy 5 and Powerball games. "She was only going to play the Lotto game," shared Hoover before he convinced her otherwise. 

The following night, Majesty, age 51, held the ticket as Hoover compared the tickets' numbers to a winning numbers print-out from a retailer. Majesty still wasn't sure they had won, so she grabbed her glasses to check the numbers over and over again. Hoover also could not believe it.
Majesty explained, "I even had my daughter go to the Lottery Web site to make sure that our numbers really matched the drawing numbers for that night. When my daughter confirmed the ticket was a match, I started screaming and got a cold chill. I just couldn't sleep that night."
Majesty won $328,253 and received $229,777 after federal and state taxes were withheld.  She split the winnings with Hoover.

Although Majesty and Hoover probably won't agree on how to use their winnings, she smiled and said, "We really do have a reason to smile."

Majesty purchased their winning ticket at Jemworks #6 on Highway 22 East in Ponchatoula. The store will receive a one-time selling bonus of $3,282.53, or 1 percent of the jackpot prize. The winning numbers for the Sept. 2 Easy 5 drawing were 8-13-17-32-33.

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.