Group of educators played Powerball together for years. They finally got a lucky win

A group of 11 in Maryland each contributed $20 to buy Powerball tickets — and it paid off.

The educators, from Southern Maryland and Virginia, won $50,000 in Charles County in the July 19 Powerball drawing after matching “four of the five winning numbers on their tickets along with the Powerball for a third-tier prize,” according to a July 27 news release by Maryland Lottery officials.

The team nicknamed themselves “One Ball Short” after the group’s spokesperson told officials “we missed it by one ball,” according to the release.

The team made up of 10 women and one man “joined forces” seven years ago and have bought Powerball and Mega Millions tickets together ever since, lotto officials said.

The team started to pool their money when the jackpot reached the “milestone” high of $1.08 billion, officials said.

“We get in when it reaches 1 billion,” the spokesperson told officials.

The team’s strategy consists of one set of members buying tickets in Maryland and another in Virginia, the release said.

The group found out about their win after a “message circulated to each member” to deliver the news, officials said.

The $50,000 in winnings will be split evenly among all 11 members, officials said. While it’s not the billion jackpot, it’s still a much bigger prize than the $40 they’d won in the past.

“We always ask if everyone wants to split it,” a group member said, “even if it is $4.”

As for what will be done with the prize money, their answers vary.

“I’m going to spend it on myself,” said one of the lucky group members.

One member said they would share the prize, another plans to use it on “non-adult stuff” and one has potential plans to visit Paris, officials said.

Charles County is 80 miles southwest of Baltimore.

This story was originally published July 27, 2023 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Group of educators played Powerball together for years. They finally got a lucky win."