$500,000 POWERBALL PRIZEWINNER SURPRISED BY WIN

DOVER, DE --A Lewes, Delaware woman claimed a $500,000 POWERBALL® with Power Play® prize from the July 21 POWERBALL® drawing yesterday at the Delaware Lottery Office in Dover.

The 46-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, claimed the $500,000 prize after initially having no idea her ticket was a winner. "I really had no idea until I later checked my tickets," she explained. "I just decided to take a bunch of tickets to the store and check them all," she said "when I found out I won, I was in complete shock. I just kept saying this is unbelievable, this is truly unbelievable."

The 46-year-old woman purchased her winning POWERBALL® with Power Play® ticket-a Quick Pick-at Atlantic Liquors on Rt. 1 in Rehoboth Beach.

Her winning ticket matched all five white numbers except the red POWERBALL® number to win $100,000. Because of the added Power Play®, her prize was multiplied by five for that drawing bringing the winning total to $500,000. She received a check for $375,000 which represents the $500,000 prize minus $125,000 for federal taxes.

The Delaware woman said that she always plays POWERBALL® with Power Play® but she has never won a large prize. "This is great, I have been looking for a house for a while now," she explained, "now I have a nice down payment." She plans to continue playing and will check her tickets more often from now on.

The POWERBALL® jackpot for Wednesday, August 11, 2004 has an estimated annuity value of $84 million. Tickets for POWERBALL® cost $1 and Power Play® can be added for $1 more. Delaware Lottery tickets are available at more than 450 Delaware Retailers.

Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than $1.8 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games: POWERBALL®, LOTTO, PLAY 3 and PLAY 4, and assorted Instant Games.