Army sergeant checked Powerball numbers — then ran to his wife and ‘started shaking’

A U.S. Army sergeant of 22 years checked his recent Powerball numbers — then “started shaking,” he told Virginia lottery officials.

Sergeant First Class Jerrell Rice narrowly missed the $130 million jackpot in the April 24 Powerball drawing, but he still won $200,000, according to the Virginia Lottery.

When he saw that he had matched four out of five white balls and the red Powerball, he had to bring the ticket to his wife to confirm what he was seeing, he said.

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

The Newport News man paid an extra dollar for Power Play, which quadrupled his win from $50,000 to $200,000, according to the Virginia Lottery. He was one of five people in the country to win $200,000 in that Powerball drawing, the highest prize of the night.

The winning numbers were 2-20-22-26-47 with a Powerball number of 21.

Rice, who is getting ready to retire from military service, told lottery officials he plans to use his windfall on his bills and his family.

Newport News is in southeast Virginia near the coast, roughly a 40-mile drive northwest from Virginia Beach.

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 can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price 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 May 1, 2024 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Army sergeant checked Powerball numbers — then ran to his wife and ‘started shaking’."