By Eric Heinz
Elizabeth Rinaldi of Dana Point won $779,264 in the Jan. 9 California Lottery Powerball draw, according to a press release from the California Lottery.
In an email to the California Lottery, Rinaldi said she usually plays Powerball when the jackpot is more than $250 million.
The jackpot was finalized at $947.9 million.
Rinaldi said she and her husband got in their car and drove to a Chevron in Dana Point on Pacific Coast Highway. One of the 10 tickets they purchased ended up matching five of six numbers (16-19-32-34-57, missing only the Powerball number 13).
“I had to read (the winning ticket) like 10 times,” Rinaldi said in the release, adding that she was in “disbelief, kind of silent, kind of in shock.”
Rinaldi said she has not decided what she and her husband will do with their winnings.
“I’m still praying about it,” she said. “It’s a lot of responsibility.”
According to the California Lottery’s website, Powerball is a multistate game played in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball draw times are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:59 p.m. Ticket sales are suspended from 7 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. the day of the draw. Tickets are $2 apiece.
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