Powerball helped a 48-year-old forklift operator become Iowa’s newest millionaire.
Anton Garrett, of Waterloo, claimed a total Powerball prize of $2,000,021. The Iowa Lottery says he bought five Powerball plays on one ticket for Saturday’s drawing. On one of those plays, he won a $21 prize. On another, he won $2 million, according to the IA Lottery.
Garrett also told lottery officials that he chose his own numbers. He used a combination of “family birthdays, anniversaries and other significant dates” for the big win. If the Powerball matched, Garrett could have claimed the $155.9 million jackpot.
“I always dreamed I would win. It’s something I could just see.”
New Star Liquor in Waterloo sold the ticket to Garrett. The retailer will receive a $2,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $2 million winning ticket.
Garrett’s wife, Astrid, traveled with him to claim his prize Monday. She gave him a hard time about buying lottery tickets in the past, “but I did good Saturday,” Garrett told the lottery officials.
Powerball boosts the win
Typically, $1 million would be a customer’s consolation prize for getting five numbers right. Garrett wisely added the Power Play option, however. It doubled the amount to $2 million for the Waterloo customer.
Saturday’s winning numbers were: 12-17-20-21-26 and Powerball 8. The Power Play multiplier was 3X for smaller wins, but Powerball caps the amount at $2 million for a five-number match.
Powerball’s grand prize is climbing, according to an announcement Sunday from the Iowa Lottery offices in Clive:
“No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot, so the big prize climbs to an estimated $168 million annuity ($117 million lump-sum option) for Wednesday.”
The Waterloo ticket was the only one in the country to win a $2 million prize in Saturday’s drawing. Tickets in Maryland and New York produced $1 million winners.
It is Iowa’s second big lotto win this year. Gene Dice, of Sergeant Bluff, near Sioux City, IA, purchased a ticket at a local convenience store for the Feb. 20 drawing and claimed a $500,000 Powerball prize.
Story continues below.
How to play Powerball
From the Iowa Lottery:
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.
Powerball drawings take place at 9:59 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The prize breakdown and odds are:
- $4 for the correct Powerball (1-in-38.32) or correct Powerball + another correct number (1-in-91.98)
- $7 for any three correct numbers with (1-in-701.33) or without (1-in-579.76) the correct Powerball
- $100 for any four correct numbers with (1-in-14,494.11) or without (1-in-36,525.17) the correct Powerball
- $50,000 for five correct numbers including the correct Powerball (1-in-913,129.18)
- $1 million if only the Powerball number isn’t correct (1-in-11,688,053.52)
- Grand prize is all six numbers are correct (1-in-292,201,338)
Winners have 365 days to claim their lotto prize. The largest prizes have to be claimed at lottery headquarters in Clive.
How to play Mega Millions
Drawings are held at 10 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. The current Mega Millions jackpot is estimated at $396 million.
Players in $2 Mega Millions choose their first five numbers from a pool of 70 and another number – called the Mega Ball – from a separate pool of 25. The Megaplier option is available for an extra $1 per play.
The prize breakdown and odds are:
- $2 for the correct Mega Ball (1-in-37)
- $4 for the correct Mega Ball + any other number (1-in-89)
- $10 for the correct Mega Ball + any two numbers (1-in-693) or any three numbers (1-in-606)
- $200 for the correct Mega Ball + any three numbers (1-in-14,547)
- $500 for four correct numbers excluding Mega Ball (1-in-38,792)
- $10,000 for the correct Mega Ball plus four correct numbers (1-in-931,001)
- $1 million for five correct numbers excluding the Mega Ball (1-in-12,607,306)
- The jackpot for correct Mega Ball and all five numbers (1-in-302,575,350)
