Meriden Mom Wins $500K On New Powerball Feature

MERIDEN, CT — A Meriden woman playing the Connecticut Lottery for the first time was a big winner in a new Powerball add-on feature, according to officials.

The woman, Connecticut’s first major Powerball Double Play winner, did a double take after discovering she had won half a million dollars.

“This is my first time playing CT Lottery,” she told CT Lottery officials. “I’m still in disbelief.”

She decided to try her luck during the recent nearly billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot run and bought a Powerball ticket as well, using the Quick Pick option.

“I’ve never played Powerball, so the clerk was helping me buy the ticket,” she said. “He asked if I wanted an add-on, and I asked what he recommended. He said Double Play, so I bought the add-on.”

That recommendation paid off.

She matched all five black balls in the Double Play drawing: 47, 17, 19, 53, and 61, winning $500,000. Had she also matched the Double Play Powerball number, she would have won a $10 million top cash prize, according to officials.

The winning ticket was purchased at H&H Mart on Broad Street in Meriden.

“Double Play, an optional add-on feature for an additional $1 per play, offers a second opportunity for players to win using their same Powerball numbers,” lottery officials wrote in a news release. “The top cash prize for this feature is a staggering $10 million.”

The winner told CT Lottery officials that she plans to use the money to pay off her mortgage and celebrate her daughter’s upcoming wedding.