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West Columbia Man Wins $200,000 Playing Powerball®

6/26/2008 2:29:04 PM

COLUMBIA, SC (June 26, 2008) – According to Mike Smith’s wife, he is quite a kidder. “He can tell a tall tale and make you believe it, and my son is the same way,” she confessed.

So when her husband called her at work last night to let her know he didn’t win the Powerball® jackpot, she believed him. She didn’t believe it when he added he won $200,000.

“I knew it was all a story,” she said shaking her head.

He was telling the truth. The West Columbia resident matched all five white ball numbers in last night’s Powerball® drawing (14, 21, 25, 45, 53, PB 9).

Smith was sitting at home, about to fall asleep with the television on, when he heard the Powerball® drawing results about to be announced. He jotted the numbers down, and then took out the folded ticket he had placed inside his wallet. He couldn’t believe it.

He yelled for his 16-year-old son to wake up. Smith called the numbers out to his son and his son verified five numbers matched. His son then called the numbers out to him. Next the father and son compared the ticket numbers to the numbers posted online, and they seemed to match. That’s when Smith called his wife.

“She just kept repeating, ‘Are you kidding,’” Smith, who works in maintenance, said.

Meanwhile, their son was so excited he was shaking trying to take a photo of the ticket to send his mom. He had to take several photos, because they kept coming out blurry.

“My son was more excited than I was,” Smith said. “I asked him, ‘Do you want to hold a ticket that’s worth $200,000?’” He declined.

Smith purchased the winning ticket from Circle K Stores #8093 in Pine Ridge.

He plans to use the winnings to pay off his home and start a college fund for his son. His wife has been wanting a new car, so the couple may start looking. Tonight he is going to call his mother to tell her the good news and see if she needs anything.

“She won’t believe me,” he said.

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