$1M Powerball Win Becomes Fredericksburg Woman’s Birthday Surprise

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Although many people might dream of receiving a $1 million birthday gift, that dream turned out to be a reality for a Fredericksburg woman recently.

Patrick Lash of Fredericksburg purchased a Powerball ticket for the Jan. 13 drawing at the Wegmans at 2281 Carl Drive Silver Parkway. He used Easy Pick to allow the computer to choose his numbers randomly.

Lash’s ticket matched the first five winning numbers in the drawing, missing only the Powerball number. The winning numbers were 4-6-16-39-66, and the Powerball number was 9.
Even so, the ticket turned out to be worth $1 million.

Rather than telling his wife about the windfall right away, Lash waited a day so that he could share the news as a birthday surprise.

“We’re still in shock,” Lash told Lottery officials, when he redeemed the winning ticket. “It feels great.”

The retired couple plans to use their winnings to purchase a home, so they could be closer to their daughter who lives in another state.

The Lashes weren’t the only ones to benefit from the winning Powerball ticket. The Wegmans where Lash purchased his ticket will receive $10,000 from the Virginia Lottery.

Profits from the Virginia Lottery also help fund K-12 education in Virginia. During the last fiscal year, Fredericksburg City received more than $2.6 million in lottery funds to support K-12 education.