Scott Moerman of Valparaiso typically waits until a Draw game’s jackpot starts climbing toward record heights before he buys tickets. During a recent record-setting Powerball® jackpot run, Scott was out picking up dinner for his family. Their order wasn’t ready yet, so Scott walked across the street and bought a couple of tickets.

A few days later, he took the Powerball tickets and some Mega Millions® tickets that had piled up on his dresser to a retailer to have them scanned. After scanning the Mega Millions tickets, the clerk asked Scott if he had any Powerball tickets and said that a $50,000 ticket had been sold in Valparaiso. Scott checked his pockets again and realized he hadn’t given the clerk his Powerball tickets.

When the clerk scanned them and told Scott he had won but would need to claim his prize at the Hoosier Lottery Prize Payment office, Scott was dumbfounded. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

His wife couldn’t believe it, either, when Scott told her he won—but that’s because Scott likes to joke with her and tell her they “hit it big” anytime he wins a small amount like $4. Once he showed her the winning ticket, she was very excited that he wasn’t joking and had in fact won.

Scott and his wife have four children, two of whom are in college now, so they plan to spend their winnings on tuition.

Powerball® Overall Odds are 1 in 25
Mega Millions® Overall Odds are 1 in 24