Church sermon inspires $100,000 Powerball prize

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- An Arkansas woman said a church sermon inspired her to buy the Powerball ticket that earned her a $100,000 prize.

K. Anthony of Harrell told Arkansas Scholarship Lottery officials she usually only plays lottery games once or twice a month, but she was inspired to make an extra purchase after listening to a church sermon about praising god for "things on the way."

Anthony used the Jackpocket app to buy a ticket for the Jan. 29 Powerball drawing, but didn't check her numbers for several days.

The player said she dodged the lottery's calls for two days, thinking they were scam calls.

"I didn't even know I'd won," she recalled.

Anthony said she was overcome with excitement when she finally answered the phone and discovered she had won $100,000.

"I couldn't even sleep a wink last night," she told officials when she visited the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center.

Anthony said she plans to put her winnings toward remodeling projects at home, taking a family vacation and bolstering her savings.