Sergeant First Class from Newport News wins $200K playing the Powerball

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – A Newport News man preparing to retire after 22 years serving in the U.S. Army just got a big surprise.

SFC Jerrell Rice won $200,000 playing the April 24 Powerball drawing. The ticket matched four numbers plus the Powerball number. That would normally win $50,000, but Rice spent an extra dollar for Power Play® which quadrupled the prize money.

The winning numbers in that drawing were 2-20-22-26-47, and the Powerball number was 21.

“I was excited! I started shaking!” he told Virginia Lottery officials. “I ran to my wife and showed her the ticket and said, ‘Tell me this is correct!’”

Ironically, he bought his winning ticket at Luckies Convenience Store on Chestnut Avenue in Newport News.

He said he plans to use his winnings to pay bills and take care of his family.

Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25.

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