Post-concert pit stop leads Kentucky friends to $50,000 lottery prize
Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A pair of Kentucky friends stopped for a bathroom break on their way home from a concert and ended up splitting a $50,000 Powerball prize.
Louisville residents Michael Brown and Steve Conley told Kentucky Lottery officials they stopped at the Verona Hop Shop in Verona on their way home from a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Cincinnati and noticed the Powerball jackpot was getting high.
"I normally don't even play, but for some reason, I decided I wanted a Quick Pick. So he's like, 'Well, I'll buy one too.' I said, 'Dude, we'll split it,'" Brown said.
The ticket matched the first 4 numbers and the Powerball in the Dec. 30 drawing, earning the friends a $50,000 prize.
The men said they were waiting in line to get into a flea market the day after the drawing when they checked the number.
"He pulled out his phone, looked at it, and he started shaking," Conley recalled.
Brown ended up skipping the flea market.
"I just took the ticket, put it in my pocket, and kept my hand on it. I told him, 'There's no way I can concentrate on buying junk when I've got $50,000 in my pocket,'" Brown said.
The men said their prize money will allow them to recover from Christmas expenses and give boosts to their savings accounts.
"The only thing that would have made it better was if he hadn't been with me," Brown joked.
