Stratford Woman Plays Father’s Old Numbers, Wins $50K Lottery Prize

STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford woman ran into some good fortune when she played her father’s old roulette numbers while playing Powerball this week.

Dana Pniewsk told Connecticut Lottery officials that she rarely carries cash and it was the day before her payday, but she had just enough cash in her wallet to buy two $2 Powerball tickets to get in on the massive $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot drawing.

One of the two tickets she purchased from the Stratford Cigar & Smoke Shop on Broadbridge Avenue in Stratford were played with her father’s old roulette numbers, according to Lottery officials.

When the winning Powerball numbers 10 - 33 - 41 - 47 - 56 and Powerball 10 were announced after the Nov. 7 drawing occurred, Pniewski said he knew she won something because she definitely had two 10s on her ticket.

“I called home to double-check the winning numbers and got confused because I thought my own numbers were being repeated back to me,” she told Lottery officials. “That’s when I realized I had matched four numbers and the Powerball — I won $50,000.”

Pniewski, one of four $50,000 Powerball prize winners for this date, said the unexpected prize win will be a huge help financially. It will be used to pay off her bills and the rest will be put away as an investment, according to Lottery officials.