New Mexico – Mr. E. Alakbarov of Albuquerque believes in making a wish when he sees a falling star. He recently saw three green falling stars in the New Mexico sky and said, “I want to be a millionaire.” On February 11th, that wish came true when he claimed a winning $1 million PowerballÒ ticket.
For nearly three weeks, Mr. Alakbarov was unaware that he had a $1 million winning ticket from the January 23rd Powerball drawing. He often waits a couple months to check his tickets. On February 10th, he visited a retailer to check his tickets. The first ticket was not a winner. The second one was a $7 winner. When the retailer checked the third ticket, they told him, “It says to go to Lottery headquarters.” Mr. Alakbarov responded with “Oh, exciting! It might be more than $100!” The retailer responded, “Oh no, we pay up to $600.”
Mr. Alakbarov went home and immediately checked his numbers at the Lottery’s website. His ticket matched the white ball numbers: 5, 8, 17, 27, and 28. He said, “At first, I didn’t even realize what was happening. I saw all the zeros and thought I won $1,000. Then, I realized that there were six zeros and it was $1 million!”
Mr. Alakbarov’s winning ticket included his favorite lucky numbers. He purchased his ticket at Circle K #08551 at 2934 Eubank Blvd. NE in Albuquerque. When asked if he had any words of advice for players, Mr. Alakbarov said, “Don’t give up!”
He plans to pay off his student loans and finish college with his prize money.