Joy comes in the morning for Baton Rouge Powerball $1 million winner

Baton Rouge resident Lala Singleton is the Louisiana Lottery’s newest millionaire, after winning by matching all five white ball numbers in the June 22 Powerball drawing.

Singleton said she plays the Lottery “every once in a while,” but usually puts her tickets away until she remembers to check them much later. It wasn’t until her sister-in-law in Connecticut tagged her in a Facebook news article about the Baton Rouge win that she decided to give it a look. “Once I checked my ticket, I just flipped out!” she explained. “I made my boss and coworkers double check!”

After state and federal taxes were withheld from the prize, Singleton received $710,000, a sum that she has big plans for. With the help of their financial advisor, the winner and her husband plan to pay off all of their debt and contribute to their children’s college funds. They also plan to donate to Jumpstart Your Heart – a charity that Mrs. Singleton works closely with.

 “It’s been a stressful year,” she explained during her trip to the Louisiana Lottery’s headquarters to claim the prize. “It has just been one thing after another lately… but joy comes in the morning!”  

Singleton purchased her lucky ticket at Charge Up 47 in Baton Rouge; the store will receive a 1% bonus or $10,000 for selling the big winning ticket. The winning numbers for the June 22 Powerball drawing were 03-06-11-14-66 and the Powerball was 21.