Lucky lotto player sees winning Powerball ticket sold near her home. ‘Maybe it is me’

A Maryland woman checking headlines on her phone noticed a Powerball ticket sold at a Hyattsville gas station had won $1 million, the Maryland Lottery reported.

“I bought tickets at the Green Meadow Exxon in Hyattsville,” the woman, a public safety worker, said. “I said, ‘Maybe it is me.’”

A quick check of her tickets revealed she hit 5 winning numbers, but not the Powerball, in the Jan. 1 drawing, just missing the $842 million jackpot.

But the near-miss was still worth $1 million for the woman, who said she normally waits a few days after a drawing to check her tickets.

The Prince George’s County woman plans to pay off her home’s mortgage and start planning to purchase a new home, lottery officials said.

Another ticket sold in Maryland won $50,000 in the Jan 1 drawing, officials said. A Michigan player claimed the $842 million grand prize.

What to know about Powerball

To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.

The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.

Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.

Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Lucky lotto player sees winning Powerball ticket sold near her home. ‘Maybe it is me’."