Dubuque Man Plans to Split Winnings with Family after $500,000 Win
Matthew Jackson Wins Big in June 1 Powerball Double Play Drawing
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Dubuque man said he's still not sure the reality of a $500,000 lottery win has fully sunk in.
"You don't know how you're going to react to something like that until it happens," Matthew Jackson, 34, said on Tuesday as he claimed his Powerball Double Play® prize at the lottery's main office in Clive. "I feel like I've been a little too calm. I don't know if it's hit me yet. Maybe in a couple days, I'll be like, 'Oh, wow!'"
Jackson's winning ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Double Play Powerball in the June 1 drawing to win a $500,000 prize. It was the only ticket nationwide to win at the Match-5 level that night.
The winning ticket was purchased for Jackson by his father, John, who routinely buys lottery tickets for himself, his wife, Lorri, and their son at Kwik Star, 1180 Kerper Court in Dubuque.
Jackson said he heard reports that a big-winning ticket had been sold in Dubuque, but didn't think much of it until his mother called a couple of days after the drawing.
"She asked if she could come over because she had some crazy news," Jackson said. "It turns out she checked the ticket and we won."
Wanting to verify the news for himself, Jackson scanned the ticket using the Iowa Lottery mobile app.
"I downloaded the Iowa Lottery app and scanned the QR code and it came up, 'Congratulations! $500,000,'" Jackson recalled with a laugh. "She was dumbfounded. I was dumbfounded. I just couldn't believe it."
Jackson said one of the strangest parts of the experience was returning to work while he made plans to travel to Clive to claim his prize.
"I was off for three days and I found out on my last day off, and I've got to work and act like everything's fine and everything's normal," he said with a laugh.
Jackson, who works as a delivery driver, said he is eager to share the prize money with his parents and sister. As for his share, he said he doesn't have any immediate plans and expects life to continue pretty much as usual.
For an extra $1 per play, players can add the Double Play option to their Powerball tickets. The numbers on that ticket are then entered into both the regular Powerball drawing and a separate Double Play drawing held the same night. It is possible to win prizes in both drawings.
Double Play has the same odds of winning as Powerball, but while Powerball has a rolling jackpot, Double Play offers a top prize of $10 million. There are nine prize levels in each drawing, ranging from matching the Powerball alone to matching all six winning numbers.
The winning Double Play numbers in the June 1 drawing were: 2-7-35-44-57 and Double Play Powerball 25.
Kwik Star will receive a $500 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $500,000-winning ticket.
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