Des Moines, Iowa — It was close, but no cigar for at least three Iowans who missed winning Wednesday night’s Powerball jackpot by just one number.
A single ticket sold in Massachusetts had all the winning numbers for the jackpot that grew to more than three-quarters of a BILLION dollars right before Wednesday’s drawing. The single winning ticket was purchased at a Chicopee, Massachuesetts convenince store, by a hospital worker who says she is now retired.
The Iowa Lottery says at least three tickets sold in Iowa came within one number of grabbing a piece of what is the second largest Powerball prize ever. There is no word, at this point, exactly where in Iowa those tickets were sold.
The Iowa Lottery says there were four-point-seven million dollars in tickets sold — with three million dollars worth sold on Wednesday alone. Tickets were selling at the rate of 78-hundred dollars a minute between five an six p-m on Wednesday. The Iowa Lottery says 90-percent of the tickets purchased used the “easy pick”option, where the numbers are randomly selected.
Radio Iowa contributed to this story.