Wife texts husband about Powerball win — but he doesn’t believe it. ‘Yeah, whatever’

Belinda Smith was working at an Iowa restaurant when her boss mentioned someone local had won big during the previous night’s Powerball drawing.

Before the Oct. 11 drawing, the Clarion woman had bought an easy-pick ticket at her hometown Casey’s convenience store, according to a news release from the Iowa Lottery.

After hearing about a local winner, Smith said she grabbed her Powerball ticket and checked it using the Iowa Lottery mobile app. That’s when she realized she had matched the Powerball and four of the five white balls.

While one number away from winning a share of the $1.76 billion jackpot, Smith had won $50,000, officials said.

“I squealed a little bit and then I had to go outside because we still had customers in the restaurant,” she recalled to lottery officials.

Smith then told her husband about their big win, according to the release.

“She took a screenshot and sent it to me, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever,’” Mark Smith told lottery officials. “And then she calls, and says, ‘No, really!’ We won $50,000!’”

The husband and wife plan to use their winnings to pay off their motorcycle and other debt, according to the release.

The winning numbers during the Oct. 11 drawing were 22-24-40-52-64, with a Powerball of 10.

Clarion is about 90 miles north of Des Moines.

This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Wife texts husband about Powerball win — but he doesn’t believe it. ‘Yeah, whatever’."