Powerball Winners From The Granite State

Along with the latest winner, the top ten lottery jackpots in New Hampshire have in fact all come from Powerball. Five of those winners have remained anonymous through a trust, and five have gone public with their winnings. Let’s take a look at some of these winners:

Robin Egg 2016 Nominee Trust

Aside from Jane Doe’s January jackpot win, the biggest Powerball jackpot win from New Hampshire came in July 2016, where the anonymous $487 million jackpot winner claimed their prize through the Robin Egg 2016 Nominee Trust.

Facilitated by Shaheen & Gordon, P.A, the winner opted to take the one-time $341.7 million cash option. The ticket was sold at the Hannaford Supermarket in Raymond, and the winner generously donated $100,000 to several non-profit organisations in the New Hampshire area immediately after claiming their winnings.

Pat and Erwin Wales

Pat and Erwin Wales hit the Powerball jackpot on August 27 2001, splitting a $295 million jackpot with two other winners. The married couple, who purchased their ticket from the Cumberland Farms, Rollinsford, decided their best option was to take the $41.4 million cash option.

The duo are actually from Bar Mills, Buxton, in the neighbouring state of Maine, but bought their ticket in New Hampshire. Powerball rules state players can enter from any of the 44 participating states on the condition that jackpot winners must collect their prizes from the state in which they entered. This is what the husband and wife did, buying some scratchcards at the same time where they won $25.

Nicholas and Carolyn Zayka

Like the Wales’ couple, Nicholas and Carolyn Zayka also won the Powerball jackpot in New Hampshire despite residing in another state. Originating from Bolton, Massachusetts, they took a one-time $42.9 million cash option in May 2002 after buying their winning ticket from P.K. Zylas Texaco in Weirs Beach, Laconia.

It was the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in New Hampshire at the time and Nicholas, then a 59-year-old machinist, bought the ticket on Mother’s Day, with wife Carolyn dedicating their jackpot win to her late mother who passed two years earlier. The married Zaykas were childhood sweethearts after meeting in high school, and Nicholas bought lottery tickets twice a week for 25 years prior to their jackpot win.

The Bow Trust of Portland, Maine

Gary’s Beverage in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was where the winning $85.5 million jackpot ticket was bought for the Powerball drawing on February 4 2004. The winner decided to remain anonymous, choosing to take the $46 million cash option in the name of The Bow Trust of Portland, Maine.

Dipak and Rita Patel, owners of Gary’s Beverage at that time, received $30,000 for selling the winning ticket, a scheme which still stands in 2018 where the seller of jackpot tickets receives a cash sum for doing so.

Dean Leighton

Back in March 1996, Dean Leighton landed a $51 million jackpot in the Powerball drawing on March 30th with the numbers 10, 13, 32, 35 and 38 drawn alongside the Power Play 31. The Chester-based winner, then 44-years-old, bought his ticket at Sandy’s Variety, Manchester, stated at the time he would continue living with his sister in Chester.

This Saturday’s drawing

With the case involving the New Hampshire winner from January currently being resolved, Powerball players can look forward to this Saturday’s drawing worth $223 million. The second jackpot winner of 2018 could be about to be crowned, and they’ll have to decide whether to go public or remain anonymous like the above winners from The Granite State.