Laos native reinvested smaller prize and became a millionaire overnight

By Kate Northrop

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa — An Iowa woman who immigrated from Laos to the United States when she was young was thrilled to win a $1 million Powerball lottery prize.

It's the perfect amount: "Not too much, not too little, just right," an Iowa resident described the $1 million Powerball prize she claimed on Wednesday.

Lynne Kannuan, a Laos native who immigrated to the United States when she was a child, has come a long way since her big move. Now, a $1 million Powerball prize is changing her family's life in just the right way.

The Webster City residen, who works in healthcare, recalled a normal day at work on a Tuesday when she received a message online from her friend in Arkansas, who saw on Facebook that someone in Webster City had won $1 million in the Powerball drawing the night before.

"Go and check your ticket," she recalled the friend saying. "It might be you!"

Kannuan admitted that she often waits weeks before she checks her lottery tickets, but the reminder made her dig through her bag much sooner than that.

"I hadn't checked my ticket," the 53-year-old told the Iowa Lottery. "I had it in my purse. I don't usually check my tickets until maybe two or three weeks later. I wouldn't have checked it if she hadn't told me."

She found out she had won a million-dollar prize in the Aug. 5 Powerball drawing. Not only that, but she was the only player in the entire country to win a $1 million Powerball prize that night.

"I had to check the numbers twice to make sure," she continued. "And then I got up slowly and walked straight to my boss' office. And I said, 'Um...' And she goes, 'What? What's going on, Lynne?' So I sat down, and I said, 'I think I won the $1 million!'"

Her boss even checked the winning numbers and came to the same conclusion.

Kannuan immediately told her husband, Pat, and their adult sons about the news. The couple kept their lips sealed for six weeks while they took their time preparing to make the claim. Having first consulted a lawyer and financial planner, Kannuan predetermined that she would use the winnings to pay off bills, share with family, and buy a newer car for herself.

Lottery officials welcomed her at headquarters in Clive when she arrived on Wednesday to claim the prize through the Lynne Kannuan Living Trust. Pat, who also immigrated from Laos to the United States as a child, spoke with his wife about how far they have come since then, literally and figuratively.

However, Kannuan and her husband want to live their lives as usual. She is more than pleased with the $1 million prize that she says is "perfect amount."

"Not too much, not too little, just right," the winner said.

Kannuan bought her winning ticket on the way home from work while stopping for groceries at Fareway on Second Street in Webster City. She realized she had a $5 prize sitting in her purse that she had won from a scratch-off ticket, so she used a portion of it to buy a Powerball ticket. Her choice to reinvest the prize turned out to be a million-dollar decision.

Her ticket matched all five white ball numbers in the Aug. 5 Powerball drawing to win the game's second-tier prize of $1 million, which were 29, 42, 44, 51, and 54.

Had she also matched the red Powerball number 12, she would have won that night's $173.5 million jackpot. The prize eventually went on to be won by one ticket in Pennsylvania when it reached $213.8 million for the Aug. 12 drawing.

The retailer received a $1,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

The next Powerball annuity jackpot estimate for the drawing on Saturday, Sept. 21 currently stands at $195 million.

Powerball is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time.  Tickets cost $2 each.

Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com).  The USA Mega website provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Lynne Kannuan, a Laos native who immigrated to the United States when she was a child, claimed her "perfect" $1 million Powerball prize.