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A couple from South Carolina who won $200,000
by matching five white balls in the Powerball
draw became the winners of $1 million, thanks
to their Power Play number also being drawn.
Philip Smith and his wife were watching the
draw unfold on television on Wednesday evening,
and when they matched the five white balls they
couldn't help but get excited - they had won
$200,000 and needed just the red Power Ball
to hit a $53 million jackpot. "We started
dancing in the middle of the living room,"
Mrs Smith said, but their eyes were still on
the screen.
The Power Ball was drawn. It wasn't the one
the Smiths needed to win the jackpot, but there
was still the Power Play number to be drawn.
All Powerball entrants have the option to pay
a little more for a Power Play number which
multiplies any non-jackpot prize by 2, 3, 4
or 5 times. The Smiths opted for the 5 times
multiplier, and when they saw their Power Play
number being drawn they knew they had turned
their $200,000 win into a cool $1 million.
"I called my son in Columbia and said,
'I think we've won a million dollars,'"
Mrs Smith said. "I'm not 100% sure, but
I think we have."
The South Carolina Lottery offices weren't
open because of the Thanksgiving holiday, so
Philip signed the lottery ticket and put it
in his wallet for safe keeping until Monday.
He then decided that the wallet should also
be secured, so he popped it inside a plastic
bag and hid it in the house.
The Smiths intend to use their Powerball fortune
wisely as part of their retirement fund. But
there will be enough for other things too. Philip
has been wanting a screened-in porch for some
time, and his wife has told him, "Honey,
I think we can afford that now."
30 November 2006
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