Washington, D.C. – Francis Connel is the D.C. Lottery’s second $1 million POWERBALL winner in one week’s time. “Play your own numbers!” said the Northwest Washington, D.C. resident who won with the POWERBALL drawing on Wednesday, December 31, 2008, making him the agency’s third $1 million POWERBALL winner since July 2008. All of the $1 million players hit big by matching the five white ballscorrectly and selecting the Power Play option that multiplies their original win of $200,000 by five. The winning numbers were 7-8-11-17-53 +36. Connel bought his winning ticket at JB Liquors, 3914 14th Street, N.W.
A 55-year-old father of one, who drives a taxicab, Connel is a native of Sierra Leone and a loyal D.C. Lottery player. “I’ve been playing for more than 15 years,” states Connel, who often meets friends at local D.C. Lottery agent locations to play his favorite games. Connel says that he used to play the lottery regularly with a friend who passed away. “On the day he passed, I won $1,000. He sent that to me. He sent me this big money, too. I believe in miracles.”
Connel’s winning strategy is to regularly play numbers of significance to him. “I play my mother’s birthday and mine. I have a combination that I play in different ways. I’m still in a state of shock about this win. There are no immediate plans, but I’m thinking about things.”
“People are winning with D.C. Lottery’s fun and exciting portfolio of games,” said D.C. Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board Executive Director Jeanette A. Michael. “Play our games for your chance to be a D.C. Lottery winner.”
Connel’s win came just before the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), the organization that administers POWERBALL, launched a redesigned game to create more winners. One of the major changes is that players who Match 5 and purchase Power Play will win $1 million and be paid in one lump sum. Additionally, the POWERBALL jackpot will start at $20 million, a $5 million increase.
Other changes to the POWERBALL game include the number of white balls increasing to 59 to generate larger jackpots, while the number of red balls will decrease to 39 to create more winners. Also, the average POWERBALL jackpot amount is expected to increase from $95.5 million to $141 million. MUSL anticipates that the changes to POWERBALL will add more than three million more prizes each year, giving players better overall odds of winning. Power Play will still be available at every prize level except the jackpot. Ticket sales began on January 4.
