Port Allen Woman Claims $1 Million Powerball Prize

Brenda Blanchard of Port Allen had a more eventful day then she expected after checking the winning Powerball numbers from the April 4 drawing on her computer.

"I checked the numbers, and then I checked them again, and again and again. At first I thought I'd only won $100, so I asked my coworkers to help me figure it out, and then we realized I had won $1 million," an excited Blanchard shared.

Blanchard and her husband are regular Louisiana Lottery players, often picking up a few Powerball tickets when they take their dog on his evening walk. As for her post-winning plans, 49-year-old Blanchard plans to buy her husband a new truck and will save the rest for retirement.

The winning ticket matched all five white ball numbers, but missed the red Powerball number, to win $1 million. Blanchard received $700,000 after state and federal taxes were withheld. The winning numbers were 01-24-33-45-49 and the Powerball number was 6.

Blanchard purchased her winning ticket at Port Allen Chevron on North Lobdell Highway in Port Allen. The store will receive a bonus of $10,000, which is 1 percent of the prize, for selling Blanchard the winning ticket.

The Powerball game underwent several enhancements in January to create bigger jackpots, more millionaires and better odds of winning. In addition to a price increase to $2 per play, the game's "match-5" prize, which Blanchard won, quadrupled from $200,000 to $1 million.    

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.