Hot Springs, Arkansas – A Garland County man and his wife were left celebrating after discovering that a Natural State Jackpot (NSJ) ticket purchased through a mobile app had won them an impressive $290,000 prize.
The Arkansas resident matched all five winning numbers in the October 2 drawing, securing the jackpot after purchasing his ticket through the Jackpocket mobile app.
According to the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL), the winning numbers were 5, 17, 19, 26 and 36.
The winner visited the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center on October 5 to collect his prize.
Although the man had previously enjoyed a substantial lottery win, the latest jackpot became the largest prize he had ever received.
Friendly competition between husband and wife leads to exciting discovery
The Garland County resident told lottery officials that he enjoys playing lottery games whenever he has some extra money available.
He particularly likes draw games such as Natural State Jackpot, but he does not follow a complicated system when choosing his numbers.
Instead, his only approach is to select different numbers each time he plays.
Checking the results has also become an entertaining tradition for the couple.
His wife frequently rushes to read the notification emails sent by Jackpocket, hoping to be the first to discover whether her husband has won anything.
However, following the October 2 drawing, the man managed to check the notification before she did.
“Haha, I saw it before you did,” he joked.
He then surprised his wife with the announcement they had been hoping to hear.
“I won the jackpot!”
The couple initially struggled to believe that they had actually won such a large amount of money.
Throughout the remainder of the weekend, they repeatedly asked themselves, “Is this real?”
The $290,000 prize was not the man’s first major lottery success. He had previously won $50,000 from another lottery game, although his latest winnings were considerably larger.
After sharing the exciting news with his wife, the winner also told his father about the jackpot.
The couple already has plans for how they would like to use their unexpected fortune.
One of their main priorities is completing renovations to their home. However, they also hope to use some of the money to make a positive difference in other people’s lives.
“We also really want to help others,” he told lottery officials. “I guarantee you.”
Meanwhile, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery reported that the Powerball jackpot stood at $674 million for the upcoming drawing, while the LOTTO jackpot had reached $2.892 million.
For the Garland County couple, the October 2 Natural State Jackpot drawing turned an ordinary lottery purchase into a $290,000 surprise and gave them an opportunity to complete their home improvements while helping others.
