Powerball player's $2M win started with a simple mistake

We've all made little mistakes — buying an extra coffee, double-booking a meeting — but one Massachusetts man's mix-up just happened to come with a $1 million bonus. The big winner didn't set out to defy the odds or rewrite the rules of luck, but a small slip when buying Powerball tickets turned an ordinary week into one he'll never forget. What started as a routine purchase quickly turned into one of the most unexpected lottery wins of the year.

A lucky mistake?

Mistakes happen — we all do it. However, Paul Corcoran of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, is celebrating after his simple mistake while playing Powerball ended up giving him an extra $1 million.

Corcoran initially bought a ticket for seven Powerball drawings, according to the Massachusetts Lottery. He thought the last drawing for that multi-draw ticket had passed, so he went out and purchased another multi-draw ticket.

It turns out that both tickets included the July 9, 2025, drawing. And to top it off, both Powerball tickets matched all five of the winning white ball numbers that night to win the second-tier prize of $1 million, which he won twice.

The winning white ball numbers for the July 9 drawing were 5, 9, 25, 28, and 69, and the Powerball number was 5. Corcoran won two $1 million (before taxes) prizes for matching the five white ball numbers on both tickets.

Corcoran recently made his way to lottery headquarters to claim his prizes. He told lottery officials the win feels good. As far as what he plans to do with his winnings, he has no plans right now.

A night of millionaires

July 9 was a night of millionaires for Powerball players. That drawing produced eight winning Match 5 tickets worth $1 million each.

Two of those eight tickets were Corcoran's. The remaining six tickets came from California (2), Illinois (2), Florida, and Nebraska. In addition, one ticket matched all five of the winning white ball numbers, but also included the Power Play option for $1 more. Because of that, the lucky ticket holder in Texas won $2 million.

Jackpot continues to grow

While that July 9 drawing created nine new millionaires, the jackpot was not won. In fact, the jackpot continues to rollover with no jackpot winners since May 31, 2025.

The last jackpot winner came from California — the fourth Powerball jackpot win of 2025 for the Golden State. The lucky ticket holder won the $204.5 million jackpot that night.

For this current jackpot run, we have had 19 drawings without a jackpot winner. The next drawing — held on Wednesday, July 16 — will be the 20th drawing for this jackpot run. The jackpot has climbed to an estimated $264 million ($119.7 million cash value).

Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee, Florida.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.