2012 Press Releases
October 5, 2012Wilmington Couple Come Forward
To Claim $50 Million POWERBALL® Jackpot Prize
Dover, DE --A husband and wife from Wilmington beat odds of 1:175 million to capture a $50 million annuity POWERBALL® jackpot, for the Wednesday, Oct. 3 drawing, according to Delaware Lottery officials.
The couple opted to remain anonymous and selected the cash, single-payment value for the jackpot, which totaled $33.05 million before federal withholding taxes. The winning ticket was validated by Delaware Lottery officials early this afternoon.
“I checked my numbers in the newspaper during a break at work, and when I realized I had won, I had the shakes,” said the man, who described himself as a laborer. “I was like, I’m done. I’m done for the day!”
His wife was similarly rattled when she heard about their good fortune.
“I said, ‘Oh my God!’” she laughed. “And I immediately thought, ‘What can we do for our family?’”
While having their winning ticket processed at Lottery headquarters on Oct. 5, the couple happily recounted their lucky tale, which began with a purchase of the ticket at Cutrona’s Liquors in Wilmington.
“We sometimes use Quick Pick, but we chose our own numbers this time,” said the husband, citing a specific game card that the man and woman have used for over a year.
“We chose numbers that mean something to us – and when they were selected on Wednesday, we couldn’t believe that they were drawn in the sequence we picked!”
The couple noted that they are casual lottery players – POWERBALL® and PLAY 4 are their favorite games – and good fortune has smiled upon them previously.
“Ironically, we hit the PLAY 4 in Wilmington (three years ago), and my wife called to say she won $5,500 playing ‘our numbers,’” the man recalled. “I told her I had played the same numbers that morning – so we actually won $11,000!”
Helping family is a priority for the couple who are intent on remaining grounded even while being able to afford some extras in life.
“Absolutely,” agreed his wife. “This just allows us to do things for others that we weren’t able to do before. You never know when you’ll get this type of opportunity.”
This is the eighth Delaware POWERBALL jackpot winner and the fifth largest POWERBALL jackpot won in Delaware. The last time a jackpot-winning POWERBALL ticket was sold in Delaware was in February 2009.
About the Delaware Lottery:
Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than $4.1 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games: POWERBALL®, MEGA MILLIONS®, HOT LOTTO®, MULTI-WIN LOTTO, DELAWARE CASH 5®, PLAY 3, PLAY 4, KENO®, iGaming and assorted Instant Games, Video Lottery, Sports Lottery and Table Games. Delaware Lottery game and promotional details are available at delottery.com, at licensed locations, and from the Lottery's office in Dover.
Winner Privacy is our Policy.
The Delaware Lottery only publishes winner names with their consent.
