Bowling Green man wins $50,000 Powerball prize, 1 number away from at least $500M

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A Bowling Green man has mixed emotions after winning $50,000 on a Kentucky Powerball ticket.

William “Larry” Waddle of Bowling Green had no idea at first that he matched four of the five white balls and a Powerball number, winning the game’s second prize from Saturday’s drawing.

The first prize if he had matched just one more number? A $596 million jackpot.

“I’m excited about the win, but it’s also frustrating,” Waddle said. “The one number I didn’t match was 24, and I had number 42. If only those numbers were reversed, I’d be a multi-millionaire.”

Waddle said he always uses numbers made up of birthdays.

“We’ll be hearing about that forever,” his wife, Deanna, said. “Or at least until he wins the big one.”

He and his wife claimed the prize the Monday following the Powerball drawing and walked away with a check for $35,750 after taxes. The couple just got married in August and plan to use the money to finish building a lake home.

The estimated Powerball jackpot is now $672 million, with another drawing on Wednesday.