Retired Marine misses Powerball jackpot by one number. But prize still left him ‘numb’
A retired Marine missed the Powerball jackpot by one number — but the prize he won still left him in shock.
“I’m numb,” William Malashevich told the Virginia Lottery in a Sept. 22 news release.
Malashevich scored a $150,000 prize after he tried his luck on the Powerball game. He was at a GoMart convenience store in Wytheville when he bought an Easy Pick ticket, meaning a lottery machine randomly chose the numbers for him.
When Malashevich checked how the ticket fared, he was in awe. The ticket matched five of the six numbers that were picked in the Sept. 6 drawing.
“I hit them all but one,” Malashevich said.
Malashevich paid $3 for a Power Play ticket, so what would normally be a $50,000 prize tripled during the drawing. Even though he got richer, he missed out on the drawing’s estimated jackpot prize of $463 million.
The lottery in its news release didn’t say how much money Malashevich kept after taxes. He’s from Wytheville, roughly 75 miles southwest of Roanoke.
Malashevich, who enjoys playing Powerball when the jackpot prize grows, isn’t the only veteran to bask in a lottery win. In North Carolina, another retired Marine planned to “pay it forward” after scoring her own windfall, McClatchy News reported in 2021.
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MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published September 26, 2023 at 2:41 PM.
