Kentucky – While a Kentucky Lottery player didn’t claim the world’s largest lottery jackpot, a lucky player from Symsonia, KY is still cashing in the largest prize won from Saturday night’s drawing.
Rickie Melton’s winning ticket matched the five white ball numbers but not the Powerball number to win the game’s second prize of $1 million. He added the Power Play option to the ticket, an additional dollar per play, doubling the prize to $2 million.
Rickie, along with his wife Karen, made the trip to lottery headquarters yesterday morning to claim a $2,000,000 Powerball ticket from the November 5, 2022, drawing.
“It’s been nerve-wracking knowing we’ve won and having to hold on to the ticket until Wednesday,” Rickie said.
Rickie told officials he was sitting in his driveway getting ready to leave for breakfast on Sunday morning when he reached in the console of his truck and pulled out his Powerball tickets to check from Saturday night’s drawing.
“I pulled up the winning numbers on my phone and started looking at my tickets. It was the last ticket I checked; I got really nervous about matching the fourth number. On the fifth number, I was so nervous I couldn’t leave the driveway and had to go back into the house,” Rickie said.
Rickie was trying to hold his excitement while Karen slept after working a late shift as a nurse. “I kept pacing the floor until I just had to go wake her up,” he said. Karen wasn’t too happy with him at first, but it didn’t take her long to wake up after she heard the big news.
Rickie purchased the $3 winning ticket from the vending machine at the Walmart on West Fifth Street in Benton. He chose to let the machine pick his numbers (Quick Pick).
After taxes, the Western Kentucky couple walked away with a check for $1,420,000. They told officials they already have an appointment with a financial planner and will invest some of their winnings. They also plan to take an Alaskan cruise and buy a new car.