North Carolina Powerball Player Who Missed $1.2B Jackpot by One Number Says He’ll Buy a Home With $2M Win

Daryl Steinhoff, a 68-year-old resident of Clayton, North Carolina, said he plans to use his $2 million Powerball prize to buy a home after matching all five white balls in the Sept. 1 drawing and missing the jackpot by the red Powerball number.

Steinhoff said he played "family numbers" and added the $1 Power Play option, which doubled the standard $1 million prize for matching the five white balls to $2 million. He learned of his windfall the morning after the drawing when he received an email alert and called his daughter and girlfriend. He claimed the prize Thursday at the North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters in Raleigh and received $1.44 million after taxes, the lottery said. The winning numbers in the Sept. 1 drawing were 8, 23, 25, 40 and 53, with a red Powerball 5.

Steinhoff was one of several players who narrowly missed the historic jackpot but still walked away with multimillion-dollar prizes. An anonymous player in Montana matched the five white balls and, by purchasing the Power Play, also won $2 million; that ticket was sold at a Rosauers Supermarket in Missoula and was claimed Sept. 5, according to state lottery officials. Players in Kansas and Texas likewise matched the five white balls and played the Power Play to secure $2 million winners. Fifteen other players matched the five white balls without the Power Play and won $1 million each.

The Sept. 1 drawing took place amid a monthslong jackpot surge that culminated in two players — one from Missouri and one from Texas — winning a $1.79 billion Powerball jackpot on a Saturday night drawing. The run between jackpot wins set a record, stretching across 42 drawings from May 31 to Sept. 6. The jackpot winners will have to decide whether to take an annuitized payout, described by officials as roughly $895 million paid over 29 years, or a one-time lump sum payment estimated at about $410.3 million before taxes.

Lottery officials noted the high number of large secondary prizes in the recent run of drawings, with multiple players nationwide matching the five white balls. State lotteries reported and paid winners after verifying tickets and completing required claims procedures. Steinhoff said he was "ecstatic and in disbelief" upon learning of his prize and that buying a home is his primary plan for the winnings.

The Power Play option, which costs an extra $1 per play, multiplies lower-tier prizes and can increase a $1 million prize for matching the five white balls to $2 million when the Power Play multiplier is applied. Winners who opt for cash prizes receive payouts after federal and applicable state taxes are withheld; in Steinhoff's case the net payment was reported as $1.44 million.

State lotteries continue to caution players to check their tickets and follow claim instructions, as several large secondary prizes from recent drawings have been claimed by players who came forward quickly after notification or after checking tickets at retailers. Officials also reminded winners to consider consulting financial and legal advisors when handling large prizes and choosing between payment options.

The recent cluster of multimillion-dollar winners highlighted both the size of the top prize during the extended run and the number of players who came close to hitting the jackpot outright. For Steinhoff, the outcome translated into a life-changing payout short of the grand prize and plans to invest in a new home in North Carolina.