House Money – Eastie Man Wins State’s First-ever $1m Powerball Prize

By John Lynds

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East Boston’s Mark Wilson receives his $1 million prize from a Massachusetts Lottery official last Thursday at the Massachusetts Lottery's Braintree headquarters.

East Boston’s Mark Wilson is a richer man is richer after winning the state’s first ever $1 million Powerball prize.

Wilson collect his cash prize last Thursday at the Massachusetts Lottery’s Braintree headquarters after, what we can assume was a very sleepless night.

“I am going to buy a house,” said Wilson when asked what he planned to with his winnings. “And after all of the snow we got this past winter, I’m going to make sure it is a house with a big driveway!”

Before heading to bed last Wednesday night, he used his phone to look up the Powerball drawing results and to his surprise his ticket matched all five numbers drawn, missing only the Power Ball. While a five number match would usually yield a $200,000 prize, Wilson used the game’s Power Play option for an extra $1 bet, increasing the prize to $1 million.

Wilson, who works as a service technician coordinator for a security company, told Lottery officials that he tucked the ticket into his wallet, which he kept in his pajama pocket all night.

He is the first Lottery player to take home a $1 million Powerball prize since the game was introduced in Massachusetts in January 2010. After taxes, Wilson took home a check for $700,000.

Wilson has routinely played the five numbers that scored him the $1 million win – 5, 15, 26, 28 and 32 – for close to 20 years, starting with the Lottery’s Mass Cash game in 1991. He brought his mother, Lillian, and his roommate, who is also named Mark, along with him to claim his winnings.

Wilson bought his winning ticket at Market Basket located at 310  Mishawum Road in Woburn. The retailer will receive a $10,000 commission on the sale.

No players matched all six numbers in the last Powerball game, so the jackpot has climbed to $153 million. The cash option on the top prize is an estimated $77.4 million.

Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at Universal Studios in Orlando and are aired locally by WCVB-TV Channel 5 at 11:20 p.m.

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