US Man Misses Out On Rs 16,000 Crore Jackpot By One Number

A Powerball player in the US state of Virginia missed out on a whopping Rs 16,809 crore ($1.87 billion) jackpot by just one number. Jeffrey Dimond, of Spotsylvania County, purchased the ticket for the Christmas Eve drawing, which was advertised as the second-largest lottery prize in history.

The winning numbers were 4-25-31-52-59, and the Powerball number was 19. Dimond used Easy Pick to select the numbers on his ticket, which he bought at Wawa, located at 9235 Courthouse Road in Spotsylvania. Though it wasn't revealed which number Dimond missed, he still managed to walk away with a $100,000 prize.

Both Dimond and his wife were initially unaware of the prize money they had secured until they scanned the tickets and received a message about the life-changing amount.

"He matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball number. Normally, that wins Rs 44.9 lakh ($50,000). However, he spent an extra dollar for Power Play when he bought the ticket, which doubled the prize to Rs 89.8 lakh ($100,000)," the Virginia Lottery announced Tuesday (Jan 6).

Despite missing out on a jackpot of a lifetime, Dimond and his wife are content and plan to buy a new roof and a new deck for their home with the money.

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Powerball Lottery

Powerball's odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25. Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game's many smaller prizes. Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.