Man Getting Car Towed Wins Powerball Prize In Kingstowne

KINGSTOWNE, VA—Always remember: a bad day can turn good in the blink of an eye. That was the case for an Alexandria man.

Serkan Sarikaya was waiting for a tow truck to come for his car when he decided to check the Powerball numbers. He discovered his numbers matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball number during the Oct. 4 drawing.

In an additional spout of good luck, he had decided to spend an extra dollar for Power Play when purchasing the ticket. That means his prize doubled from $50,000 to $100,000. He bought the ticket at a 7-Eleven (6901 Victoria Drive) in Kingstowne.

Sarikaya said the numbers have no special meaning but are numbers he like. He chose 22-23-62-63-66 and the Powerball number was 24.

At the very least, he can make his car troubles a thing of the past. Sarikaya, who works for a home remodeling subcontractor, plans to pay bills with his winnings.

“It’s so exciting!” he told the Virginia Lottery when collecting his prize.

Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25.

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Image via Virginia Lottery