An excited Pennsylvania couple arrived at Lottery Headquarters today to claim their $128.8 million Powerball prize. The twosome had the only winning ticket for the Christmas Eve drawing and their Quick Pick Powerball numbers of 14, 16, 30, 51, 52 and Power Ball 19, matched all five white balls and the red Power Ball to win the second-largest jackpot ever hit in Maryland. US lottery

The largest jackpot prize record in the state is held by a woman who won $183 million Mega millions in 2003.

The lucky Lottery player got into Wesley’s on Christmas Eve to purchase some beers and on the way out he saw the Mega Millions and Powerball signs. “The Mega Millions jackpot was larger, but the drawing for Powerball was that evening, so I bought two tickets for that drawing,” said the winner. His spur-of-the-moment purchase made for an unforgettable holiday season. Lottery results

“I checked my tickets on Christmas day,” said the winner. “When I saw the numbers, I started stomping on the floor and shouted to my wife to come upstairs.” Thinking that her husband had dropped something, his wife ran upstairs to find the Powerball ticket in her husband’s shaking hands. “We were in shock,” she said. “At first, we thought we’d won $20 million. To discover it was over $125 million was unreal.”

The couple has not decided whether to take the $128.8 million annuity or the cash option of around $81 million. They will use some of the prize money to pay off debts and give to charity. The ticket was purchased at Wesley’s, located at 3700 Telegraph Rd. in Elkton, and for selling the ticket, it will get a $25,000 commission.

Maryland joined Powerball two years ago and has produced two jackpot winners. The first Powerball jackpot won in Maryland was for $108.8 million and an Abingdon couple claimed it in September 2011.

There have also been 21 second-tier $200,000 Powerball winners, three of these turned into $1 million prizes as a result of the Power Play option.

Beginning Sunday, January 15, 2012, the lottery will double its starting jackpot from $20 million to $40 million. Also, the second-tier prize will rise more than 3 times the amount, from $200,000 to $1 million. On top of it, if a player adds the Power Play option, the second-tier prize automatically doubles to $2 million. The ticket price will also change, from $1 to $2 for a single Powerball ticket. The first Powerball drawing under the new game structure will occur on Wednesday, January 18.

The multi-state Powerball game is played in 44 states and jurisdictions. Powerball drawings can be seen on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 11:22 pm on WBAL-TV, Channel 11.

Since 1973, the Maryland Lottery has awarded more than $18.73 billion in prizes to players and $12.2 billion in revenue to the State of Maryland. As one of Maryland’s largest revenue sources, the Lottery supports state programs and services including education, public safety and health, human resources and the environment.