Inspiring and winning Powerball stories aren’t just a thing of the past, and these Powerball winners made headlines in 2022.
There are always Powerball winner stories from years past that warm your heart. It’s inspirational to hear how lives drastically change with the picking of a few random numbers. Some winning stories are like whirlwind fairy tales, with people finally realizing their dreams of homeownership or travel. Others are inspirational because of the charitable good works that come with winning it big. But the really great thing about playing Powerball is that those experiences and Powerball winning stories continue to happen. In fact, here are three inspiring tales of winners already this year.
January 7: A Boise Idaho Firefighter Wins $100,000
Casey Winter, along with his longtime girlfriend, Josie Nelson, were on their way to a family get-together when they thought to check their Powerball ticket. When they scanned the ticket using the Idaho lottery app, a message popped up indicating the winning amount was too big to display and provided the next steps for contacting the local Lottery office. To be sure there wasn’t an error, the couple stopped into a gas station to scan the ticket there. And when the alarms went off, alerting a winner, they knew it was legit.
Instead of heading to their family function, they raced down to the Lottery office before it closed for the day. The couple claimed their $100,000 prize. Casey Winter, a local fireman and lifelong Idaho resident said even though he missed the jackpot by one number, he’s not complaining one bit. The couple has plans to use the winnings as a down payment for a new home. This inspiring Powerball story might just end in “happily ever after.”
January 13: A Dearborn, MI Man Takes Home a Cool $1 Million
Keith Burge managed to match five white balls in a December Powerball drawing. His winning Powerball ticket was worth a cool $1 million, making it a life-changing amount. Burge told reporters that he likes to play when the jackpots swell. This time it paid off.
Burge was back, filling up at the local Sunoco gas station he frequented when the attendant mentioned a winning Powerball ticket had been sold there. Burge remembered that he had recently played. Upon checking his numbers, he was shocked to learn he was that Sunoco gas station winner. He plans to invest his winnings for now and still says he’s in shock. It’s not every day you pop into your regular gas station and end up with a million dollars.
January 14: The Iowa Couple Who Won $2 Million
Keith and Karla Elenz of New Hampton, Iowa, work together at an automotive parts manufacturing company. Karla, who avidly plays and chooses her own numbers, heard the buzz at work that someone from New Hampton had the winning Powerball ticket. She raced to her car to pluck the ticket from her visor and checked her numbers. She told her husband Keith, and neither said they could sleep that night, knowing they held a Powerball ticket worth a whopping $2 million.
Karla said in an interview, “life is short” and went on to say she still plans to put her "pants on the same way I did yesterday.” But the couple did say they planned to take a few trips, including one to Las Vegas, and Keith joked he might “buy that plane” he’s always wanted. But ultimately, they intended to invest most of their Powerball winnings and support a few local charities. It's just another story about Powerball players who got lucky and now get to do what they've always wanted.
Inspirational Powerball stories can happen to anyone, anywhere, as long as there are Powerball players. You never know. The next winning story could be yours!