A Fairfax County substitute teacher and her husband nearly dismissed a winning Powerball notification before discovering it was worth $100,000

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — A Virginia couple almost overlooked a six-figure lottery win after a Powerball prize notification landed in their inbox and was initially mistaken for spam.

Dipali Panjabi and her husband learned they had won $100,000 from the May 25 Powerball drawing after receiving an email alert tied to an online lottery purchase.

According to Virginia Lottery officials, Panjabi’s husband purchased the ticket online and later received an email notifying the couple that they had won a prize.

At first, he thought the message was junk mail.

It wasn’t.

The winning ticket matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball number. Under normal circumstances, that combination would have paid $50,000.

However, Panjabi’s husband added the Power Play option for an additional $1 when purchasing the ticket, doubling the prize to $100,000.

The couple used Easy Pick, which randomly generates numbers for players.

The winning numbers drawn on May 25 were 17, 32, 48, 60 and 64. The Powerball number was 10.

Panjabi, a substitute teacher, told lottery officials she plans to use the winnings to help save for her son’s college education.

Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night.

The game offers jackpots for players who match all five white balls and the Powerball, with odds of winning the jackpot standing at approximately 1 in 292.2 million.

Virginia Lottery officials noted that all lottery profits support K-12 education throughout the Commonwealth.

Key Points

• A Fairfax County woman won $100,000 in the May 25 Powerball drawing.
• The couple initially thought the winning email notification was spam.
• A $1 Power Play purchase doubled the prize from $50,000 to $100,000.