'Couldn't have happened at a better time.' Louisville couple claims $1M Powerball prize

A Louisville couple is the lucky winner of a $1 million Powerball prize.

The boyfriend and girlfriend, who asked lottery officials to remain anonymous, bought the ticket Friday evening at the Circle K on Valley Station Road, the Kentucky Lottery announced Monday. 

They walked in lottery headquarters Monday morning to collect their winnings and walked out with a check for $710,002.84. 

“This couldn’t have happened at a better time and is a huge blessing,” said the female winner.

When her boyfriend checked their tickets after Saturday night's drawing, a store clerk told him he'd won more than $600 and would need to collect his winnings at the lottery's downtown Louisville headquarters. 

He got back in his car, pulled up the lottery app on his phone and punched in his ticket's numbers: 09-13-42-48-60.

It was a match. 

“I just sat in my car crying,” he told lottery officials.  

They fell short of the game's top prize, as their ticket didn't match the Powerball drawn Saturday night, 18.

Still, their $50 investment certainly paid off. 

They told lottery officials they plan to pay off debt and might put their winnings toward a vacation.

"It still hasn’t sunk in," she said Monday. "I’m thinking, 'Wow, here in the next couple of hours, our lives will change.'" 

The game, played in 44 states, is now up to a $66 million jackpot. 

Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mattg.