California man’s $50K Powerball win doubles to $100K thanks to Power Play
Richmond, VA – A California man got double the surprise after learning his Powerball prize wasn’t $50,000—it was $100,000, thanks to one small decision when buying his ticket at a Richmond Wawa.
Daniel Green, a resident of Folsom, California, initially thought he had won $50,000 in the September 6 Powerball drawing. But when he checked again, he realized he had added Power Play to his ticket—an option that doubled his winnings to $100,000.
He purchased the ticket at the Wawa located at 5231 Brook Road in Richmond, using Easy Pick to let the computer randomly generate the numbers. The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, and the Powerball number was 17. Green matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball, earning a $50,000 prize that was automatically doubled thanks to the $1 Power Play add-on.
Green told Virginia Lottery officials he was already excited at the initial win and joked about finding “50,000 ways” to spend the money—before realizing he’d need to think even bigger.
Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, with overall odds of winning any prize at 1 in 25.
All profits from the Virginia Lottery go toward K-12 education. Richmond, where the winning ticket was purchased, received over $22.5 million in Lottery funds for education last fiscal year. Statewide, the Lottery generated more than $901 million for public schools in Fiscal Year 2025.
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Key Points
- Daniel Green of Folsom, CA, won $100,000 in the Sept. 6 Powerball drawing
- His $50,000 win doubled thanks to the Power Play option
- Ticket was purchased at Wawa on Brook Road in Richmond