What began as a minor misunderstanding turned into an extraordinary stroke of luck for a couple from Bella Vista.

Darren and Lindsy L. won $230,000 in the May 7 Natural State Jackpot (NSJ) drawing. They claimed their prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center on May 14.

The winning ticket was sold at Casey’s General Store #3264, 2 Riordan Road in Bella Vista. The winning numbers were 6, 10, 14, 27 and 39.

Darren purchased the winning ticket as a birthday gift for his wife, Lindsy. The couple only occasionally plays lottery games, usually preferring instant tickets over draw games. However, in honor of her birthday, Lindsy wanted to try her luck with $40 worth of Powerball® tickets.

Darren was happy to oblige but mistakenly purchased several Quick Pick tickets for NSJ, an Arkansas-exclusive draw game.

“It was actually a misunderstanding,” Darren told lottery officials, laughing.

Unbeknownst to the spouses, the mix-up would land them NSJ’s $230,000 jackpot.

Lindsy discovered her win two days after the drawing while on a birthday retreat with family. She took time from the vacation’s busy itinerary to check her numbers and, to her shock, realized she had matched all five numbers needed to win the jackpot.

“Is this real?” she thought.

Stunned, she texted pictures of the winning ticket to her husband. When her messages received no response, the lucky winner called to share the good news.

“I think I won,” she announced.

The pair has since shared the good news with a few other family members, and they plan to go on vacation with their prize.

With Darren’s birthday on the horizon, the couple also hopes for another big win.

The jackpot for tonight’s NSJ drawing is $85,000.

NSJ tickets are $1 per play, and ticket sales cut off at 7:59 p.m.

For more information about NSJ and other lottery games, 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 $7.9 billion and returned more than $1.4 billion for scholarships to benefit Arkansas students. More than 822,000 college scholarships distributed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $5 billion in prizes to players, more than $449 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $186 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.

Darren and Lindsy L. of Bella Vista won $230,000 in the May 7 Natural State Jackpot drawing.