Lottery player credits his late father for huge Powerball win. ‘A blessing from him’

A lottery player who had won only modest prizes before has credited his late father for his biggest win yet.

Thomas O’Hollearn of Johnston, Iowa, called it a “dream come true” to win a $100,000 prize in the March 19 Powerball drawing.

The big win came at an emotional time for the 56-year-old, whose father died three weeks prior.

“I thought maybe it was a blessing from him. It was a blessing from my dad,” he told lottery officials when he accepted his winnings on March 20.

O’Hollearn said he purchased two Powerball tickets at a Hy-Vee in West Des Moines on March 18 when he saw the game’s estimated jackpot of $418 million.

He learned the next morning during a break from work he won $100,000 by matching four of the five white ball numbers and the Powerball.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was just thrilled,” he told lottery officials. “I called my mom right away, and my brother and my son. We were all excited.”

The winning numbers for the March 19 drawing were 8-11-21-49-59 with the Powerball number 15.

O’Hollearn said he plans to use his winnings to save and invest for retirement.

“I’d win $3 here, or $15 there, but I never thought I’d win this money,” he said.

Johnston is about a 10-mile drive northwest from Des Moines.

What to know about Powerball

To score the jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.

The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.

Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.

Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Lottery player credits his late father for huge Powerball win. ‘A blessing from him’."