‘Best mistake of my life’: Virginia woman wins $1 million Powerball prize

Virginia Lottery and Miriam Long — Big winner: Miriam Long holds a $1 million check after winning a second-tier prize in a Powerball drawing last month. (Virginia Lottery )

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

April 03, 2024 at 6:50 pm EDT

A Virginia woman is grateful that she pushed the wrong button on a lottery machine. Her mistake resulted in a $1 million windfall.

>> Read more trending news

Miriam Long, of Christiansburg, originally intended to buy a Mega Millions ticket when she went to a CVS store in Blacksburg last month, according to a news release on Wednesday from the Virginia Lottery.

At the time, the Mega Millions jackpot was at $893 million and Long wanted a chance at a big payday. Instead, she pushed the wrong button on the lottery machine and received a Powerball Easy Pick ticket. Numbers are chosen randomly by a computer.

Long’s “mistake” ticket matched the five white balls in Powerball’s March 18 drawing for a $1 million prize, lottery officials said.

”It’s the best mistake of my life!” Long said in a statement.

The winning numbers were 10-17-20-39-44; the only number she failed to match was the red Powerball. which was 16.

Long could not believe her good fortune. She claimed her prize on March 20 at lottery headquarters.

”My heart was pounding!” she told lottery officials. “It’s overwhelming!”

The CVS store that sold the winning ticket received a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery.

1 of 13