NASHVILLE — When Jonathan Kelton sat down to read the newspaper this morning his routine was shattered. Not only did five of his numbers match five of the numbers drawn in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, earning him $100,000, but since he had also chosen the Power Play option, he was a $200,000 winner. Additional plays earned him another $37.
“I always play the same numbers,” said Mr. Kelton, “and I always use the Power Play. If you pay the extra dollar, you’ll at least double your winnings.”
Mr. Kelton, 53, is a Metro Police officer in Nashville with the Armed Robbery unit who has served on the force for 26 years. He purchased his winning ticket at Circle K, 4199 Nolensville Road, in Nashville.
“A while back, I sat down and figured out what numbers hit most often over a 6-month period. Those are the numbers I always play,” he said.
In addition to his win, there were another 26,241 winning Powerball tickets from Wednesday’s drawing sold in Tennessee. Almost 5,000 of those winners doubled their prize with the Power Play option. Since Tennessee joined Powerball on April 19, there has only been one other winner who multiplied his $100,000 prize with the Power Play multiplier, which was also 2 for that drawing.
The Tennessee Lottery began selling its first instant tickets on Jan. 20, 2004. At the end of its first fiscal year, after five months and 12 days of ticket sales, the Lottery had raised more than $123 million for education. All Tennessee Lottery profits will go to pay for specific education programs in the state, which initially include the HOPE Scholarship program.