A group of 12 central Arkansas men who won a $50,000 lottery prize in December claimed another $50,000 Tuesday after more than doubling their team in a bid to win the $750 million Powerball jackpot, officials said.
The team of 28, who dubbed themselves “The Flyers Lottery Group,” each chipped $20 into their pool, according to a news release by the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. Their efforts netted each man $1,231.50, the release states.
“I started this office pool since the lottery started in 2009,” Glen Johnson, spokesman for the group, said in the release. “Every time the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots reach at least $400 million, our group purchases at least 200 tickets for each drawing.”
Though the work group didn’t win the $750 million Powerball jackpot, they intend to keep purchasing more tickets, officials said.
The winning white-ball numbers were 16, 20, 37, 44 and 62, with the Powerball of 12. The group's ticket, meanwhile, had 16, 20, 37, 43 and 62, with the Powerball of 12. So if the 43 were a 44, the group would have split the $750 million jackpot with a player in Wisconsin, who was the only one to match all the numbers.
The group bought its ticket at a gas station at 17500 Colonel Glenn Road in Little Rock.
The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday night’s drawing stands at $54 million.