Her husband woke her at 3 a.m. to let her know they almost won a $288 million Powerball jackpot. She was OK with almost since that meant a $100,000 third-tier prize.
Clinton husband-and-wife team wins third-tier Powerball prize after almost winning jackpot
Until she completed the claims process at Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore, a player from Clinton remained skeptical about her $100,000 Powerball win.
“I kept asking myself, ‘Is it real? Is it true?’” said the Prince George’s County resident, who is going by the nickname of “Paul’s Wife & Robyn’s BFF” for purposes of telling her story. The nickname has significance to the winner, her friends and family.
Convinced that her situation was indeed real and true, the 57-year-old related the tale of the win, including the revelation that she is part of a Lottery playing duo.
“Actually, my husband plays all the time,” she said. A Lottery enthusiast, he enjoys a variety of games, including not only Powerball but also the Pick games, Multi-Match and scratch-offs. Prior to this week, their biggest win was a score of about $5,000.
Her husband purchased the lucky $4 Powerball ticket for the April 11 drawing on the day of the drawing from Allentown Liquors, which is located at 6321 Allentown Road in Camp Springs. He checked the ticket for a win in the very early morning hours of April 12.
“He woke me up at 3 in the morning and said, ‘We almost won the Powerball!’” recalled “Paul’s Wife & Robyn’s BFF.”
She came back with, “Why are you waking me up for ‘almost?’”
He explained that almost winning the jackpot, which was at $288 million for that drawing, means winning a substantial prize. In this case, the couple matched four of the five white balls plus the Powerball for a base prize of $50,000. The ticket, however, included the Power Play option, which increases the prize by a randomly selected multiplier. On April 11, the multiplier was X2, making the prize $100,000.
The wife then agreed it was OK for him to have rousted her from her slumber. Of her husband, she said: “He was super excited. He never went back to sleep.”
The following day, he called her several times just to check on details like the location of the ticket. After going through the claims process and being convinced of the reality of the situation, “Paul’s Wife & Robyn’s BFF” said a celebratory meal of some sort was in order. She said she and her husband will probably also take their three grandchildren, ages 1, 3 and 6, on a small vacation, likely to a kids-focused theme park.
After that drawing, the Powerball jackpot has continued to roll. Players can try their luck winning an estimated $325 million jackpot set for the next drawing on Saturday, April 16. The cash option is $201.2 million.
