FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOISE, Idaho – After seeing a news article in the Magic Valley Times-News in late July, James Graff of Murtaugh knew there was a big Powerball winning ticket that had been sold in Twin Falls County. Graff carefully checked his ticket for the July 28, 2021, Powerball draw and sure enough, he had matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. His ticket also had PowerPlay, which was 3 for that draw, and turned his $50,000 winning ticket into a $150,000 winner.
“That turned out to be a great $1 investment,” said Graff on his decision to include PowerPlay when he claimed his winning ticket at Lottery offices in Boise a month later. “I got an extra $100,000 for my extra $1.”
Graff said he has been adding PowerPlay to his Powerball tickets for a long time just in case something like this were to occur. The PowerPlay number is selected before the winning Powerball numbers on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday draw nights. PowerPlay multiplies all non-jackpot winning prizes by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X depending on the number selected for a particular draw. In Graff’s case, the PowerPlay for the July 28 draw was 3X.
The winner said he took a while to claim his winning ticket because he wanted to make sure he was taking care of all business surrounding the win. While setting aside most of his winnings, he’s also planning some home improvement projects to his residence.
Graff’s winning ticket was sold at one of the luckiest stores in Idaho. This is the fourth, six-figure winning ticket sold at the Oasis Stop ‘N Go on Addison in Twin Falls and the first large Powerball winner. Oasis Stop ‘N Go will receive a bonus of $15,000 from the Idaho Lottery.
The estimated jackpot for Wednesday night’s Powerball draw is $388 million.
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The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Mega Millions, Scratch GamesTM, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the dividend for Idaho public schools and the permanent building fund. Since their inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold over $4.6 billion in products, awarded more than $2.8 billion in prizes to players, returned $270.9 million in retail commissions, and distributed $1.034 billion in Lottery dividends to Idaho public schools and buildings. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.
CONTACT: David Workman
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