Lawrence County Man Claims $150,000 Powerball Prize in Portia

PORTIA, Ark. — A Lawrence County resident has claimed a $150,000 Powerball prize after a ticket left in his car from an Oct. 17 drawing turned out to be a winner, according to the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.

Lottery officials identified the winner as Michael W., who purchased the ticket at Jordan’s Kwik Stop 50 on Highway 63 in Portia. He claimed his prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery claim center on Oct. 20.

Michael and his wife were at home when she mentioned she had heard about a yet-unclaimed winning ticket sold in Portia. Remembering the ticket he had left in the car, Michael asked her to retrieve it. After checking the numbers, she informed him of their $150,000 win. Wanting to confirm, the couple asked their son to verify the ticket as well, according to the lottery.

“You never think you’re going to be the one who wins,” Michael told lottery officials.

Michael’s ticket matched four of the five white-ball numbers plus the Powerball, which would have earned him $50,000. However, because he had opted for the Power Play feature, the prize was tripled to $150,000 thanks to the drawing’s multiplier of three. The winning numbers from the Oct. 17 draw were 12, 13, 24, 32 and 35, with Powerball 11.

According to lottery officials, Michael plans to use part of his winnings to buy his son a car and save the rest.

Michael is a regular Powerball player when jackpots reach at least $250 million. He typically uses Quick Pick tickets and consistently adds the Power Play option, a feature that increases non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times their base value. Lottery officials noted that Quick Pick tickets have the same odds of winning as those with numbers chosen manually by players.

As of Oct. 21, the Powerball jackpot was listed at $635 million for that evening’s drawing, making it the second-highest jackpot of 2026. Drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 9:59 p.m., with ticket sales closing one hour before. Tickets cost $2 per play, and the optional Power Play is an additional $1. To win the jackpot, players must match all five white-ball numbers plus the Powerball.

In addition, the Arkansas LOTTO jackpot was set at $2.862 million for a 9 p.m. drawing on Oct. 21. Tickets for that game also cost $2 each, with sales ending at 8:59 p.m. More details about the games are available at MyArkansasLottery.com.