17 relatives play Powerball at family reunion — and win big in Missouri. ‘Surprise!’

While at a family reunion in Missouri, some of the relatives decided to pool their money for a chance to win the $631 million Powerball jackpot.

Seventeen people chose to play and “quite a few others didn’t,” one of the family members told Missouri Lottery officials.

The group of participating family members bought a ticket at Casey’s General Store in Hamilton for the July 8 drawing, according to a news release. That ticket matched the Powerball and four of the five white balls.

This meant they had won $50,000, officials said.

“It was a surprise!” one of the winners said when claiming the group’s prize. “My aunt thought we were teasing her.”

The winner said she kept the Powerball ticket safe until she could claim their winnings.

“I slept with the ticket in my billfold, in the safe, underneath the bed until we got to claim it!” she recalled to lottery officials.

The group was one number away from winning the jackpot. The winning numbers were 7, 23, 24, 32, 43 and Powerball 18.

Hamilton is about 65 miles northeast of Kansas City.

This story was originally published August 3, 2023 at 10:02 AM with the headline "17 relatives play Powerball at family reunion — and win big in Missouri. ‘Surprise!’."