Largest Powerball win in Kentucky is a speedy claim

By Kate Northrop

Not even two full days after Saturday night's Powerball drawing produced one winner of a $167.3 million jackpot in Kentucky, the lucky ticket holder has come forward to claim the prize.

The Kentucky winner of the $167.3 million jackpot drawn on Saturday, April 26 wasted no time to hurry on over to Kentucky Lottery headquarters in Louisville, where they were officially announced as the rightful jackpot claimant today.

It's been well over a decade since the last Powerball jackpot win in Kentucky, and the winner to end the cold spell in the Bluegrass State is Linda Grizzle, who is splitting the prize with her son, Shannon Farthing.

"It's going to be a good Mother's Day," Grizzle told the Kentucky Lottery. "This is going to pay off my debt."

Quickly discovering and coming to terms with the jackpot win was a whirlwind that took the mother and son by storm. On Sunday, Grizzle had received a text from someone she knew informing her of the jackpot win that had taken place in Georgetown.

"And I text Shannon and said, 'Is she playing with me?'" 'Cuz I said, "I've got a ticket here laying on the table that's got these exact numbers on it.' And I said, 'If so, you've won something.'"

Farthing was in the middle of washing a car, but Grizzle was completely positive that he had at least won "something." Her son rushed home, and together, the pair went back to the retailer that sold the winning ticket to see what they won.

"I would have never dreamed it; it hasn't sunken in yet," she joked with Lottery officials.

It was Farthing who had originally purchased the $2 ticket from Clark's Pump-N-Shop on Connector Road in Georgetown.

The last time a Powerball jackpot was won in Kentucky was in December 2010 with a ticket purchased at a Simpsonville retailer, and the previous record for the largest Powerball prize in Kentucky was a $128.6 million jackpot won in December 2009, also with a ticket purchased at another Georgetown retailer.

"Yes! Kentucky finally has a Powerball jackpot winner!" Lottery President and CEO Mary Harville rejoiced. "And not just any Powerball jackpot prize, it is a record for Kentucky. It is $167.3 million — so exciting! So exciting for the winner because the winner has won $167.3 million, but also for the retailer... They're going to get a commission for selling that big winner. And then, of course, the citizens, the people of the Commonwealth, everyone's a winner, because Kentucky Lottery proceeds fund college scholarships and grants for our Kentucky college students to go to college right here in Kentucky."

The winning ticket matched all five white ball numbers — 1, 12, 14, 18, and 69 — and the red Powerball number 2 on Saturday, April 26, 2025. The Power Play multiplier was 3.

The Georgetown residents will have to choose between receiving the prize as either 30 graduated annual payments over 29 years or $77.3 million in cash all at once.

Grizzle and Farthing said they are speaking with their financial adviser to determine the best choice of payment, the Lottery said. They do not have to make that decision on the spot today, Harville explained. They have 60 days to decide how they'd like to be paid out, plus it gives the Kentucky Lottery time to prepare for and complete the payment process.

"Most people today don't take the annuity option," Harville said. "The annuity allows one immediate payment to be made, followed by 29 installments. Most folks like to go ahead and get the cash option, in this case, the $77.3 million. And we don't have cash here... We don't keep any cash her, so we give the process time to complete, and it's going to be sometime between now and 60 days."

According to USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis, after all taxes are paid, the total prize payout they will have received would be either $99.9 million over 29 years or $45.6 million if they chose the cash option.

Grizzle told the Lottery that she plans on spending Mother's Day with her son after many years they did not get to share time together. She also wants to plan a trip to Ireland with her realtor friend after having wanted to go for "a very long time."

"It's where I plant to go, and go to the parish where they married, and I probably got cousins over there that I don't know."

For selling the jackpot-winning ticket, Clark's Pump-N-Shop will receive over $37,000 from the Lottery.

Mitch Bowling is the clerk who sold the winning ticket at the Georgetown retailer, according to LEX 18, who told reporters that he's sold winning lottery tickets before but never something so "unprecedented."

"Well, I heard about it this morning from my managers," he said in an interview with the news station the morning after the draw. "It's really cool. Like, we don't ever expect Kentucky to hit it, so it's really nice that somebody from here managed to actually hit it, you know, for once. I hope they have fun with it, you know, I mean, congratulations — have a great time."

Bowling doesn't play the lottery himself, but if he ever did play and win, he shared what he would do with the prize money.

"First off, I'd probably use it to, you know, help my parents out, put them in a new house, and I don't know, probably just stick it in the bank and live off of it," the cashier said.

What is the first thing you would do?

(Here's what we would do.)

The Saturday Double Play drawing results were 12, 20, 26, 38, and 40, along with red Powerball number 5. Double Play is a game option that is offered in 22 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The option lets you play your numbers in a second drawing for an extra $1 per play, with a chance to win up to $10 million in cash. See How to Play Powerball at USA Mega for more information about Double Play.

Aside from the Kentucky winner, there were several other significant winners in the drawing. Ten tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. Seven of those tickets were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000, and two were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $41,790.

When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, a second-prize win is doubled, and any other non-jackpot prize is multiplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts and the Powerball Double Play Prize Payouts pages at Lottery Post.

The official drawing videos can also be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega.

The Power Play option is not available in California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered with the Power Play is incompatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Monday night at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time with the jackpot amount reset to its starting point of $20 million.

Powerball is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., 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 Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States' two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Linda Grizzle (left) didn't waste much time getting to Kentucky Lottery headquarters to claim her $167.3 million Powerball jackpot, the largest ever won in Kentucky.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)The actual winning Powerball ticket.