West Des Moines Man Who Picked His Own Numbers Wins $100,000 Powerball Prize
William Rogers Claims Large Prize in Wednesday's Drawing
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CLIVE, Iowa — A West Des Moines man said his $100,000 Powerball® win came from numbers he picked himself — and it didn't take long for his wife to notice.
“She prefers if I go and let the computer pick it,” William Rogers said Thursday as he claimed his prize at the lottery's main office in Clive. “She always knows when I pick the numbers because she recognizes some. Now I don't think she'll ever, ever say, 'Don't you pick it!' because I picked all these and I got five out of six.”
Rogers' ticket matched four of five white balls and the Powerball in Wednesday's drawing, and was one number away from winning that night's $175 million jackpot. He purchased it at Hy-Vee, 1990 Grand Ave. in West Des Moines, and checked the numbers with his wife, Yoko, over coffee the next morning. His initial $50,000 prize was doubled because he added the $1 Power Play® option to his ticket, which multiplies non-jackpot prize amounts by up to 10 times.
“Obviously, my eyes got big,” Rogers said. “They widened up. I couldn't believe it and had to look at it multiple times to be sure.”
The winning numbers in Wednesday's drawing were 7-19-21-54-63 and Powerball 21. The Power Play number was 2. No one won the jackpot that night, which now stands at an estimated $190 million for Saturday's drawing.
Amid the excitement of his big win, Rogers said he and his wife had only started to talk about what they might do with the prize money, but new furniture — which they last bought in 1988 — and saving for the future are possibilities.
For now, they plan to stick to their usual daily routine while enjoying the peace of mind that comes with a big lottery win,
“We're not going to go out and blow it,” Rogers said. “That's just how our lifestyle has been.”
Players in $2 Powerball choose their first five numbers from a pool of 69, and another number – called the Powerball – from a separate pool of 26. The Power Play option is available for an extra $1 per play.
Since getting its start in April 1992 in 15 states with jackpots that started at a guaranteed $2 million, Powerball has grown into one of the world's biggest and most recognizable lottery games. Today, Powerball is played by 48 lotteries across the country with drawings at 9:59 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
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