Shopper listens to stranger’s lottery advice — and wins big Powerball prize in Missouri

A Missouri woman forgot her drink at home before hitting the road, so she stopped at a convenience store to buy a soda.

That forgotten drink led to a big lottery win, according to an Oct. 19 news release from the Missouri Lottery.

While she was at White Oak Station in Battlefield, she said a stranger told her, “you can’t win if you don’t play!”

This inspired her to buy $20 in Powerball tickets for the Oct. 9 drawing, according to the release.

One of her tickets matched four of the white balls and the Powerball, officials said. This qualified her for a $50,000 prize.

“It was just kind of a fluke that I stopped there,” the woman said when claiming her winnings. “ ... I was at the right place at the right time!”

The winning numbers were 16, 34, 46, 55 and 67 with a Powerball of 14, officials said.

Battlefield is part of the Springfield metropolitan area about 150 miles southeast of Kansas City.

This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Shopper listens to stranger’s lottery advice — and wins big Powerball prize in Missouri."