Christiansburg woman "accidentally" wins $1 million Powerball prize

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - A Christiansburg woman has won a $1 million Powerball prize, though what she was aiming for was a Mega Millions jackpot, according to Virginia Lottery.

Miriam Long wanted to buy a Mega Millions ticket, according to lottery officials, as the Mega Millions jackpot was getting a lot of attention with an estimated $893 million jackpot, and she wanted to get in the game. But when she went to the Virginia Lottery machine at a CVS store on South Main Street in Blacksburg, “she accidently hit the button for a Powerball ticket.”

That “accidental” ticket ended up matching the first five winning numbers in the March 18 Powerball drawing to win $1 million, according to lottery officials.

“It’s the best mistake of my life!” she told Lottery officials.

The winning numbers were 10-17-20-39-44, and the Powerball number was 16. The only number she didn’t match was the Powerball number. She used Easy Pick and allowed the computer to randomly select the numbers on her ticket.

Retailers that sell $1 million winning tickets each receive a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery, so the store also won in this case.

When Long discovered how much she’d won, she said she couldn’t believe it.

“My heart was pounding!” she said. “It’s overwhelming!”

Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Long lives in Montgomery County, which lottery officials say received more than $5.3 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Lottery raised more than $867 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget. For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page.