Travis Harpenau matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize, but since he added the Power Play option to his purchase for an additional $1, his prize doubled to $100,000.
Harpenau said he picked his own numbers using his birthdate – April 27, 1981 – and his choices came so close to winning Wednesday’s world-record Powerball jackpot.
“I did 4, 27, 19, 8 and I almost did 34 because I’m 34 years old, but I decided I had too many (numbers) clumped together so I chose 54. So I was real close,” Harpenau told lottery employees Thursday as he claimed his prize at the lottery’s regional office in Mason City.
The winning numbers in Wednesday’s world-record $1.586 billion jackpot drawing were: 4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10. The Power Play number was 2. Three tickets sold in three different states (California, Florida and Tennessee) split the jackpot.
The 34-year-old said he normally doesn’t play Powerball, but he jumped in with a world-record jackpot on the line. Harpenau said he purchased 20 plays Wednesday at Kum & Go, 1920 S. Federal Ave. in Mason City for that that night’s drawing.
“The one I won on was actually the first one I filled out so I should’ve just stopped there,” he said.
Harpenau said he had a hard time convincing his wife, Klarissa, that he’d won.
“She didn’t believe me even after I sent her a couple of pictures of it,” he said.
The lottery win comes at a great time for the couple as they are expecting their first child in a few months.
Harpenau was one of three Iowa Lottery players to win a $100,000 prize in Wednesday’s drawing. The other two $100,000-winning tickets sold in Iowa for Wednesday’s drawing have yet to be claimed. Those tickets were purchased at Kum & Go, 7265 Vista Drive in West Des Moines and BW Gas & Convenience, 2101 Antique City Drive in Walnut.
Three more tickets won $50,000. Joseph Bowersox of Polk City claimed a $50,000 prize Thursday on a ticket he purchased at Kum & Go, 303 W. Broadway St. in Polk City; and Gibram Madrid Sanchez of Cedar Rapids claimed a $50,000 prize Friday on a ticket he purchased at Guppy’s On The Go, 1532 Ellis Blvd. NW in Cedar Rapids. The other $50,000-winning tickets sold in Iowa for Wednesday’s drawing has yet to be claimed. That ticket was purchased at Kwik Shop, 303 W. Locust St. in Davenport.
