The First Powerball Millionaire of the Year promotion is a special competition which culminates with one lucky player winning $1 million just after midnight on New Year's Day. The drawing takes place live on air during the Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast from New York, with five finalists in the running to become an instant millionaire. The promotion held its first draw in the early minutes of 2020 and saw a winner from Maine awarded the life-changing prize.
The exciting promotion returned for 2024, with 23 lotteries holding local competitions in summer and fall 2023 to choose semi-finalists. Out of these state-level winners, five national finalists were selected, and one of them became Powerball's first millionaire of the New Year.
The 2024 Powerball First Millionaire of the Year was won by a North Carolina player for the second straight year. Pamela Bradshaw from Clinton was declared the winner in this year's edition of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest from Times Square.
The finalists chosen were:
The New Year's Eve promotion is jointly organized by Powerball and MRC Live & Alternative. Entry is a two-stage process, where semi-finalists are selected via local draws, before finalists are chosen in a nationwide draw. One of the finalists will go on to win the $1 million grand prize.
Each participating state lottery sets its own launch date and deadline for entries. The entry process also varies by state, but players are usually required to submit non-winning Powerball tickets into a second chance draw. Each state will pick a pre-determined number of winners and award them prizes at their own discretion.
The 23 participating lotteries in the 2024 Powerball First Millionaire of the Year promotion were: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana (Hoosier), Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C.
Next, the local semi-finalists are entered into a national draw conducted by the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs Powerball.
The five winners of that drawing are the finalists. They are all in the running to become a millionaire, with the final draw broadcast live during ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest’.
Contact your state lottery for full details of how to enter the Powerball First Millionaire of the Year promotion, including the deadline for entries.
In previous years the finalists have been able to take one guest on an all-expenses paid trip to New York to ring in the New Year in Times Square. The prize included airfares, three nights in New York, transport, and $1,000 in spending money.
For the 2024 First Powerball Millionaire of the Year promotion, the prize also included tickets to a welcome event and group dinner, tickets for a private NYC excursion and entertainment experience, gift bags worth $200 and much more, finishing off with a private Rockin’ Eve party experience. The retail value of the trip was estimated to be around $20,000.
The First Powerball Millionaire of the Year promotion ran for the first time in 2020 in 25 participating jurisdictions. More than 300 lucky players each won a luxury trip to New York and five of those were selected as the finalists who would be in with a chance of winning $1 million.
The package included luxury accommodation in Times Square for three nights from December 29 to January 1 for each winner and a guest, along with a welcome reception at the Edison Ballroom, two theater tickets, a holiday cruise on the Hudson and much more.
The winner of the $1 million prize and Powerball’s first millionaire of 2020 was Blaine Marston from Passadumkeag in Maine. He was revealed as the winner live on-air during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve by country singer Jessie James Decker.
A delighted Marston described the feeling as 'unreal' and Powerball Product Group Chairman Gregg Mineo also saluted the event as an 'exciting night in Powerball history.' The $1 million prize was paid as a lump sum and there was not an option for an annuity.
There were 26 participating lotteries in the 2021 promotion, and the ultimate winner was Carlos Mabry from Washington D.C. He participated in the draw remotely as he did not travel to New York, and was nearly speechless as he watched the number come up and heard the amazing news from Powerball correspondent Jessie James Decker. He punched the air and reached out to hug his wife and two daughters.
"Tell me what is flowing through your body and blood right now," host Ryan Seacrest said. Mabry repeated "Oh my," before saying emotionally, "All glory to God!" Mabry later said he plans to share his incredible prize with a number of good causes, including his church and a local food bank.
Brian Mineweaser, a father of four from Chester County in Pennsylvania, won the 2022 promotion. He described it as ‘surreal’ after beating off competition from participants in a total of 29 states. He said the money would be used to put his four kinds through college. The four other finalists also received a party package worth $20,000, including a $10,000 cash prize, big-screen TV, premium laptop computer and much more.
For the 2023 promotion, the prize awarded to North Carolina’s Gary Krigbaum was accepted on his behalf by his daughter Sarah Day. “I want my dad to have as much of it as possible. I want him to go fishing and get his truck and whatever he needs,” said Sarah, who stood in for her father on the trip. Meanwhile, fellow finalist Jared Jank from Minnesota surprised his girlfriend by proposing to her live on air earlier on the night.
A year after Krigbaum won, North Carolina had another millionaire to celebrate at the start of 2024 as Pamela Bradshaw from Clinton, NC, was selected at random ahead of her fellow finalists. The first woman to win, Bradshaw said she felt ‘blessed’ after an incredible experience in New York, and said she would use the money to buy her own home.
