South Shore man wins $50K
Nov. 6—SOUTH SHORE — A South Shore man's Powerball persistence paid off.
After playing the same numbers for years, Roy Burke won $50,000.
Burke purchased five sets of numbers for the Powerball drawing on Oct. 19.
It was on the last line of his ticket that he matched four of the five white ball numbers and the Powerball, according to a recent press release.
The number Burke needed to win the $508 million jackpot was 24. On his ticket was the transposed number of 42.
"If only the numbers were switched around, I would have won the jackpot," he said.
While Burke was at his bank, the teller mentioned to him that someone in town had won $50,000 on Powerball. "I joked with her it was me. I never imagined it actually was," Burke said.
It turns out the owner of K.D.'s Food Mart on U.S. 23 in South Shore tracked him down to tell him he thought he had the winning ticket. The store owner had seen surveillance video of Burke buying the ticket.
Burke pulled up the winning numbers on his phone when he recognized the first few numbers, stated the release.
"Some of those jumped out at me," he said, since he'd been playing the same numbers for years. "I looked at my ticket and was like, holy cow, it is me.
"I'm grateful to have won," Burke added. "I've been through a lot the last couple of years and winning the Powerball felt like a win."
The following Tuesday, Burke claimed his prize, receiving a check for $35,500. He said he plans to pay off bills and put some money away for his daughter's college tuition.
K.D.'s Food Mart will receive a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
