North Carolina Powerball Player Who Missed Jackpot by One Number Claims $2 Million, Plans to Buy Home
Daryl Steinhoff matched the five white balls in the Sept. 1 drawing, collected $1.44 million after taxes and says he will use the money to purchase a house.
A North Carolina man who missed a historic Powerball jackpot by a single number collected a $2 million prize this week and said he plans to buy a home with the money.
Daryl Steinhoff, 68, of Clayton, N.C., matched all five white balls in the Sept. 1 drawing but missed the red Powerball, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. He paid an extra dollar for the power play option, which doubled the standard $1 million prize to $2 million. After federal and state withholdings, Steinhoff received $1.44 million.
Steinhoff said he used family numbers on the ticket and first learned of the win the morning after the drawing, when an alert informed him he had won. "I was ecstatic and in disbelief," he told lottery officials. He called his daughter and his girlfriend before claiming the prize at the State Lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday.
The winning numbers in the Sept. 1 drawing were 8, 23, 25, 40 and 53, with a red Powerball of 5. Players in multiple states matched the five white balls that night; several opted for the power play to double their payouts.
An anonymous player in Missoula, Mont., who bought a ticket at a Rosauers Supermarket also matched the five white balls and, with power play, claimed a $2 million prize on Sept. 5, Montana lottery officials said. Players in Kansas and Texas also matched all five white balls plus the power play, and 15 others nationwide took home $1 million prizes for matching the five white balls without the power play.
The Sept. 1 drawing occurred amid a historic jackpot run that continued to climb in the following weeks. The grand prize eventually reached $1.79 billion and was won by two ticket holders from Missouri and Texas in a drawing on Sept. 6. That result ended a record streak of 42 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, a run that began May 31.
Because two tickets matched all six numbers in the final drawing, the advertised jackpot will be split. The winners will choose between an annuitized option of $895 million each, paid over 29 years, or a lump-sum payment of about $410.3 million each, both figures before taxes.
Lottery officials routinely advise winners to consult financial and legal advisers before claiming large prizes. In this case, Steinhoff said his immediate plan is straightforward: buy a home and share the news with family.
Multiple state lotteries handled the claims and payouts for the smaller prizes resulting from the prolonged jackpot run, and officials underscored that many winners across the country secured seven- and six-figure payouts in the same series of drawings that produced the record jackpot.