BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A Vietnam veteran from Kentucky won the $50,000 Powerball prize, just one number away from cinching the game's top prize: $500 million.
William "Larry" Waddle of Bowling Green said he had mixed emotions after winning thousands on a Kentucky Lottery Powerball ticket.
“I went to the store where I bought the ticket and the clerk said she couldn’t pay it out but didn’t know why. Then the manager said, ‘It’s probably a big payout’ and it was.” Waddle said.
At the time he had no idea, but he had matched four of the five white balls and the Powerball number to win the game’s second prize of $50,000.
“I’m excited about the win but it’s also frustrating,” Waddle said. “The one number I didn’t match was 24 and I had number 42. If only those numbers were reversed, I’d be a multi-millionaire.”
Lottery officials said that if Waddle had the correct number, his ticket would have won him the $596 million jackpot.
“We’ll be hearing about that forever,” his wife Deanna said. “Or at least until he wins the big one.”
Waddle called her after he found out he had won and said “I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news. Bad news is we need to drive up to Louisville. The good news… it’s to get $50,000.”
“We always play the same numbers made up of birthdays,” Waddle, a Vietnam veteran, said. “I was starting to think they would never come in and I almost did a Quick Pick instead. Good thing I didn’t.”
Waddle and his wife claimed the prize the Monday following the Powerball drawing, when he walked away with a check for $35,750 after taxes. The couple just got married in August and said they plan to use the money to finish building a lake home.
The estimated Powerball jackpot is now $672 million with the next drawing on Wednesday.
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