NASHVILLE – A couple from W. Memphis, Ark., have joined the ranks of Tennessee’s Lottery elite after Power Play quadrupled their $100,000 Powerball win to $400,000 – making them one of the Top 10 winners in the Lottery’s 10-month history.
Alvin and Lynn Wilbanks claimed their $400,000 Powerball prize at the Lottery’s Nashville headquarters this morning, placing them in the sixth highest spot on the list of overall Tennessee Lottery winners. This win also makes the Wilbanks the second highest Powerball winners to date in the state.
Other winners in the Lottery’s Top 10 Prize List include:
$1,000,000 Tennessee Millionaire winner from Knoxville (Instant ticket game)
$670,823 Lotto 5 jackpot winner from Morristown
$455,776 Lotto 5 jackpot winner from Clarksville
$444,615 Lotto 5 jackpot winner from Nunnelly
$500,000 Powerball Power Play winner from Fairview
$300,000 Powerball Power Play winner from Memphis
Three $250,000 Holiday Treasures winners from Memphis, Newport, and Harriman (Instant ticket game)
Alvin, a custom homebuilder who works in Memphis, and Lynn, a nurse who also works in Memphis, are self proclaimed Power Play enthusiasts. Alvin and Lynn both say they play Powerball on a regular basis, and will not buy a ticket without Power Play. “It’s like you’d be missing out on something you could have had,” said Lynn.
Alvin’s winning ticket correctly listed the first five numbers minus the Powerball, which usually yields a $100,000 win. It was the Power Play option that turned the Wilbanks’ prize into $400,000 – since the multiplier for Saturday night’s drawing was four.
Alvin purchased his winning ticket at the Dandy Mart Food Store, located at 1254 N. Collierville-Arlington Road in Eads. He bought five tickets for Saturday night’s drawing, selecting his own numbers for each one. “I just picked random numbers for four of them, but for the first one I used the birth dates of my family. That’s the one that won.”
The couple says they already know exactly how they plan to use their prize. “I’ll be writing a check to our mortgage company first thing tomorrow,” said Lynn. “Then we plan to buy another automobile, and we’ll invest the rest.” The couple said they hope to invest the remainder of their winnings for their four children, ages five through 14, to attend college.
The Powerball jackpot for the next drawing on Wednesday, Dec. 8 is estimated at $171 million. Powerball drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:59 p.m. CST (10:59 p.m. EST). Watch for drawings at 10 p.m. CST (11 p.m. EST) on official Tennessee Lottery television stations throughout Tennessee.