DOUBLE LUCKY LADIES WIN $10,000 LOTTERY PRIZE

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Karen Diamond, Nancy Harris Claim $10,000 Prize from May 27 Powerball® Drawing

DES MOINES, Iowa – Using their own numbers, two Pleasant Hill women won $10,000 in the May 27 Powerball drawing.

Karen Diamond, 57, and Nancy Harris, 60, claimed their prize Wednesday at the Iowa Lottery's headquarters in Des Moines.

Harris bought the ticket the night before the drawing, but was unable to stay up for the drawing on May 27. She discovered their winnings the following morning when she called in to check the numbers. Harris works as a procedure writer in the tax department at Wells Fargo.

The two friends pool their money to buy tickets together every week.

"I have a set of numbers I play every week, and then we get so many easy picks besides that. We play one set of numbers all the time," Diamond said.

Diamond has been using the birthdays of her immediate family members for around six years, and Harris just recently started using her family members' birthdays on a second ticket they buy. It was Diamond's numbers that won the $10,000 prize.

"I told my manager, 'I almost gave quitting notice today. I almost hit $232 million. It didn't take long for word to spread," Harris said.

Diamond decided to have a little fun telling her co-workers; she works as a manager in the quality control department at Haska Corporation.

"I went into our breakroom and I wrote on the blackboard 'my lottery numbers' on top and 'winning numbers' on the bottom. I have about 10 people that work for me and I called a meeting. I said, 'I have an announcement but I don't have to say anything. Look at the board,' and everyone started screaming," Diamond said.

The women plan to pay bills with their winnings.

They do plan to keep playing the lottery; in fact Harris purchased five Powerball tickets just after claiming their prize.

Harris bought the winning Powerball ticket at Kum & Go, 141 S. 74th St. in West Des Moines.

The winning numbers on May 27 were: 5-6-12-16-21 and Powerball 7. The Power Play multiplier was 3. Diamond and Harris matched four of the first five numbers drawn and the Powerball to win a $10,000 prize. Had they added the Power Play® to their ticket, the pair would have multiplied their $10,000 win by three and won a total of $30,000.

Players can increase their prizes with the Power Play (except the jackpot) up to five times. The cost is $1 per play. The Power Play number, 2 through 5, is chosen at the beginning of the drawing indicating the amount prizes (except the jackpot) will be multiplied if that number is drawn.

For players who choose the Power Play and match five white balls (regularly a $200,000 prize), the multiplier will always be 5, so those players would win an instant $1 million.

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

Players may visit the Iowa Lottery at 2323 Grand Ave. in Des Moines or go to one of the lottery's regional offices in Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, Mason City or Cedar Rapids to claim prizes.

Since the Iowa Lottery's inception in 1985, its players have won more than $2.2 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for state programs.