Two Howell County Missouri Lottery players recently claimed major prizes, including a $77,777 Scratchers win in Willow Springs and a $50,000 Powerball prize in West Plains.
The first win was announced in mid-April after a Howell County player claimed the first $77,777 top prize awarded in the Missouri Lottery’s “Sapphire 7s” Scratchers game.
The winner, whose name is not publicized due to state law protecting the identities of lottery winners, said she and her husband had finished grocery shopping when he picked up a couple of tickets for them at Town & Country Supermarket, 719 E. Main St. in Willow Springs. When they returned to their car, he asked her to choose which ticket she wanted to scratch.
“My eyes got big, and I was a little shaky,” the winner said.
She realized she had uncovered the sapphire symbol, which meant she had won all 15 prizes on the ticket for a total of $77,777.
“When I saw the sapphire sign, I thought, ‘Oh, wow,’” she said. “I said, ‘I’m going to check to see if this is really what I’m seeing.’”
The couple returned to the store to scan the ticket and confirm the win.
“Well, today is a good day,” her husband said.
The winner added, “We both had winning tickets.”
Since the $5 game began at the end of March, “Sapphire 7s” players have won more than $1.8 million in prizes. The Missouri Lottery reported more than $12.2 million in unclaimed prizes remain in the game, including four additional $77,777 top prizes.
A second Howell County lottery win was announced at the end of May, this time involving a Powerball ticket purchased in West Plains.
A West Plains player discovered he had been storing a Powerball ticket worth $50,000 in his truck for months.
“I purchased tickets in February, and I hadn’t checked them,” he said. “It was just one of those times where I felt, ‘Well, I probably need to get them out of the console of my pickup.’”
The player went to Casey’s, 1702 Gibson St., to buy gas and stopped to check the ticket at the front counter, where he had purchased it months earlier.
He said he was speechless when the clerk told him the amount of the prize.
“I really didn’t know what to say,” he said. “I’ve played for years and this is the biggest thing I’ve ever won.”
The player said the news distracted him from his original errand.
“I had paid for gas and even drove off and forgot to get my gas,” he said.
He said he plans to spend some of the winnings on his grandchildren.
The winning Quick Pick ticket matched four of the five white-ball numbers plus the Powerball in the Feb. 11 drawing. The winning numbers were 6, 20, 33, 40 and 48, with Powerball 5.
In fiscal year 2025, players in Howell County won more than $7.7 million in Missouri Lottery prizes. Retailers received more than $645,000 in commissions and bonuses, and more than $459,000 in lottery proceeds went to educational programs in the county.
