NEWHALL WOMAN WINS $200,000

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Gayle Reese Wins in March 8 Powerball Drawing

DES MOINES, Iowa - A Benton County woman has claimed a large lottery prize.

Gayle Reese, 56, of Newhall won $200,000 in the March 8 Powerball® drawing. She purchased the winning ticket at Newhall First Stop, 211 First St. E. in Newhall and claimed her prize at the Iowa Lottery's regional office in Cedar Rapids.

Reese was still pretty excited when she claimed her prize.

“I slept about three hours last night,” she said. “My husband had come home from work and he said that he was down at the station yesterday morning and somebody had won $200,000 in Newhall. So he said, ‘Did you buy a ticket?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ So he went on the computer and looked up the numbers … and he [said], ‘You won $200,000!’”

Reese said she and her husband Bill began calling family members to tell them the good news. Her son joked about them holding the winning ticket.

“He knew someone in Newhall had won $200,000,” she recalled. “So my husband called him. He said, ‘Oh, you guys won the Powerball, didn't ya?’ [My husband] said, ‘Yeah, how'd you know?’”

She said she will pay bills and save some money for retirement.

“Last week was unbelievable,” she laughed.

The winning Powerball numbers for the March 8 drawing were: 17-29-31-34-49. The Powerball was 16. The Power Play® multiplier was 2.

If Reese had played the Power Play option, she would have won $400,000!

Players can increase their prizes with the Power Play (except the jackpot) up to five times. The cost is $1 per play.

Just before the Powerball numbers are drawn, the Power Play wheel is spun. Slots on the wheel list the numbers 2 through 5, indicating the amount prizes (except the jackpot) will be multiplied if that number is drawn.

Winning numbers may be checked by calling the lottery at (515) 725-7900 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Winning numbers may also be checked through the winning numbers' hot line at (515) 323-4633, at the lottery Web site at www.ialottery.com or with lottery retail outlets.

Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, more than $2.1 billion has been awarded in prizes and more than $1.1 billion has been raised for state programs.