Newton Man Claims $50,000 Powerball® Prize as Game's Jackpot Reaches $1 Billion
Reggie Blumeyer Claims Large Prize Won in Saturday's Drawing
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CLIVE, Iowa — A Newton man who won a $50,000 Powerball prize said his big win caught him by surprise.
"I looked at my wife and gasped," Reggie Blumeyer said Monday as he claimed his prize at the lottery's main office in Clive. "My wie said she thought I was having a heart attack or something. That's pretty much what it was: shock."
Blumeyer won the big prize in Saturday's drawing by matching four of five white balls and the Powerball. He bought his easy-pick ticket at Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh, 1421 First Ave. E. in Newton, using winnings from a separate lottery ticket to make the purchase.
He checked his ticket the morning after the drawing with the Iowa Lottery mobile app after he and his wife, Lorie, returned from a bike ride. He said she didn't exactly believe him at first.
"She said no, so I had to clear it out and do it over and prove to her that it was," Blumeyer said. "And then I told her to pinch me because I couldn't believe that I was awake."
Blumeyer said he and his wife, who both retired in May, plan to put the winnings toward a new pickup truck.
The Powerball jackpot, which has rolled for more than three months, is now up to an estimated $1 billionfor Wednesday's drawing. That is the eighth-largest in Powerball history and the largest U.S. lottery jackpot so far this year.
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 49 lotteries with drawings at 9:59 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
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