Missouri – Michael Baldwin of Eldon and his mom, Michelle Adams of Lake Ozark, decided to pool their money together to buy Powerball tickets with Power Play. Baldwin purchased the tickets at three separate gas stations over a two-day period, but his last stop at Jiffy Stop, 3360 Bagnell Dam Blvd. in Lake Ozark, was his lucky stop.
“My mom and I agreed whatever the number was, whatever we won, $10, $100, the jackpot, we would split it down the middle and put it all towards debt,” explained Baldwin.
“We prayed over those tickets,” Adams added.
The two said they began checking their tickets the night of the drawing after his mom downloaded the Official Missouri Lottery App and scanned the tickets on her phone.
“I heard this loud gasp. It scared me,” recalled Baldwin. It was the moment his mom read the screen on her phone: “Congratulations! $250,000 Winner”
As Baldwin and his mom celebrated, his dad woke up and was in complete disbelief, too.
“He said, ‘Is this a joke? Are you serious?’” Baldwin shared. “I cried. I dropped to the floor.”
Their Powerball ticket matched four white-ball numbers and the Powerball number to win $50,000. But because Baldwin played the Power Play option, and the Power Play number drawn that night was five, their $50,000 prize was multiplied by five to win $250,000.
The mom and son duo were a bit emotional about their win, hugging and calling this a ‘blessing from God.’ Their prize money will pay off Adams’ house, and Baldwin will be able to pay his debt off.
“Once all my debt is paid off, I am going to buy a house,” he said.