A spur-of-the-moment Powerball® ticket purchase gave one Arkansas lottery player their biggest win yet.

A Beebe resident won $2 million in the April 29 Powerball drawing. The winning numbers were 3, 19, 35, 51 and 67, and the Powerball number was 15. The Power Play® multiplier was 2. The winner claimed their prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center on May 20 and elected to remain anonymous.

“I play once in a blue moon, but I thought, ‘Let me go ahead and try,’” they told lottery officials. “It was just one of those days.”

The lucky winner bought their ticket on the night of the drawing at BB One Stop, located at 20 Highway 64 W. in Beebe. Although they typically use birthdays and other important dates for winning numbers, this time, the player created a pattern to choose their numbers.

“I would pick a number on the playslip, skip a row, then pick another number, and so on,” they said.

To select the Powerball number, they played a round of rock-paper-scissors with their partner.

“My favorite number is 16, and my partner’s favorite number is 15,” the player said. “Since I won, I went with 16.”

Finally, the player also opted for the Power Play multiplier, at their partner’s suggestion.

The Beebe resident went home and fell asleep without checking their ticket. While at work the following day, the player saw a news story announcing that a winning Powerball ticket had been sold in Arkansas. Curious, they looked up the numbers online.

“No, that can’t be it,” they thought. “This can’t be real.”

The player had matched all but the Powerball number, winning a $1 million prize. Because they bought the ticket with Power Play for an additional $1, their prize doubled to $2 million.

Stunned, the winner first called their partner, who was still fast asleep.

“I needed another set of eyes to look at the ticket,” they laughed.

Although they were just one number shy of winning the jackpot, the lucky winner was still more than grateful for the prize. They plan to visit family members who live out of the state and continue playing lottery games. 

Another winning ticket sold for the April 29 drawing, worth $1 million, remains unclaimed. The ticket was purchased at Maverik #5421, 2894 W. Walnut St. in Rogers, and the winner has 180 days from the draw date to claim their prize.

These winning tickets were two out of 89 second-tier Powerball winning tickets sold in several states for the same drawing. The unprecedented “Night of Millionaires” saw 62 $1 million winners and 27 $2 million winners, as well as two jackpot-winning tickets worth nearly $72 million each. 

For more information about lottery games and how to play, visit MyArkansasLottery.com.

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) creates winning people, winning futures, and winning moments. Since 2009, the ASL has sold over $8 billion and returned more than $1.6 billion for scholarships to benefit Arkansas students. More than 873,000 college scholarships distributed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education have been awarded to Arkansans. As of April 30, 2026, the lottery has awarded more than $5.8 billion in prizes to players, more than $481 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $459 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Visit MyArkansasLottery.com for more information on scholarships, winners, games, odds, promotions – and to join The Club for free. To get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.