BATON ROUGE – David Whitley of Baton Rouge couldn’t believe his eyes when he checked his Louisiana Lottery Easy 5 ticket after the Oct. 24 drawing and saw that he won the $151,280 jackpot prize.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Whitley. “I had to check the ticket a few times to make sure I was seeing it right and that the numbers weren’t changing on me.”
The 75-year-old’s winning ticket matched all five numbers to win the jackpot prize, which he claimed Friday at Louisiana Lottery headquarters. The winning numbers were 10-16-26-27-31.
Whitley received $107,412.80 after state and federal tax withholdings. Although he has no specific plans to treat himself with the winnings, he does plan to make a donation to his church. The winning ticket was sold at Rende’s Quick Stop on Monterrey Drive in Baton Rouge. The store received a one-time selling bonus of $1,512.80, which is 1 percent of the prize. Lottery ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. Draw-style game tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. Anyone who may have a gambling problem or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem should call toll free 1-877-770-7867 for help. For security purposes, the Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets immediately after purchasing. More information about Easy 5 and other jackpot winners can be found on the Lottery’s website, www.louisianalottery.com/easy-5.