Winner predicts the amount he won prior to buying the ticket

By Kate Northrop

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A California lottery player who nearly forgot about his $20 Powerball ticket won the amount he predicted at the counter prior to purchasing his ticket.

After practically willing his win amount into existence, a California man didn't realize the Powerball ticket sitting in his cupholder for days had won $1.5 million.

Amos Tillet picked up $20 worth of Powerball Quick Pick plays from the 7-Eleven on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles for the Aug. 10 drawing, which boasted a jackpot that had climbed to nearly $1 billion. He had set aside the ticket and did not think about it again for two days.

But what was interesting was the moment before Tillet had purchased the ticket at the counter. The 7-Eleven clerk had asked him why he was only spending $20 when the Powerball jackpot was approaching $1 billion.

"I told the guy, 'Man, I'll be happy with a million,'" Tillet recalled to California Lottery officials. "Sure enough, kind of what I ended up with."

The ticket had been sitting in his car cupholder when a friend who was hanging out at Tillet's place asked him to grab something from the vehicle. Walking back to the car, he spotted the Powerball slip and brought it inside with him. Sitting down to scan the numbers, Tillet almost did not believe what he was seeing.

So he scanned it again.

"I ran around the living room and, I kind of like, fell out in joy," the winner laughed.

More specifically, Tillet's take-home win of $1,478,686 came by matching five of five white balls without the Powerball to win the second-tier prize. The winning numbers in the Aug. 10 drawing were 6, 37, 54, 55, and 64, with red Powerball number 10.

The next Powerball annuity jackpot estimate for the drawing on Saturday, Oct. 24 currently stands at $674 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 website provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States' two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.