Oklahoma Powerball History: From Small Town Wins to Billion-Dollar Jackpots
The Powerball jackpot is once again making headlines in 2025—climbing to a jaw-dropping $1.7 billion, one of the largest lottery jackpots in history. With no winner in the September 3 drawing, all eyes are on Saturday, September 6, when players will get another shot at becoming billionaires overnight.
Now, let’s be real: the odds of winning that life-changing jackpot aren’t exactly friendly—1 in 292.2 million. Still, they’re not zero. And as Oklahoma’s lottery history proves, sometimes luck strikes closer to home than you’d expect.
A Million-Dollar Mystery in Tulsa
Just a couple of weeks ago, on August 20, someone in Tulsa, Oklahoma, purchased a Powerball ticket worth $1 million at a QuikTrip on East 41st Street. But here’s the twist—it’s still unclaimed.
“We’re thrilled to have another $1 million winner in Oklahoma, but the prize hasn’t been claimed yet,” said Abby Morgan, Director of Marketing & Product Development at the Oklahoma Lottery. The winner has until February 16, 2027, to step forward. Until then, that golden ticket remains a mystery.
Flashback: Oklahoma’s First $1 Million Win
Let’s rewind to 2006. Laura and Charles Ray of Foss, Oklahoma, weren’t just bait shop owners—they became the first Oklahomans to hit the Powerball big. Their lucky ticket matched five numbers, originally worth $200,000, but thanks to a multiplier, it skyrocketed to $1 million.
Laura recalled not even realizing she had won until a lottery official showed up at their bait shop. When she scanned her tickets, the magic numbers popped up. “Sure enough, there they were—all five white balls,” she said. Though they missed the jackpot by just one number, the Rays still walked away with $710,000 after taxes—a massive prize at the time for a brand-new state lottery.
The Harveys’ $105 Million Payday
Just a year later, in 2007, Oklahoma saw one of its biggest wins ever. Don and Joyce Harvey of Roland purchased a Powerball ticket at a local Shell station and ended up with an unbelievable $105.8 million jackpot.
The couple decided to take the lump sum payout of $33.3 million after taxes. Joyce admitted she’d been using the same numbers for a while, but ironically, the time before they hit, she thought the numbers came out wrong. So she repeated the “wrong” numbers—and that mistake turned out to be the smartest move of her life.
She described her reaction as total disbelief. One quick check on her computer turned her into one of Oklahoma’s biggest lottery winners.
The $85 Million Secret Winner
Then came 2008. A winning $85 million Powerball ticket was sold at a Stripe’s convenience store. By late August, a financial planning firm claimed the $29.3 million cash option on behalf of an anonymous winner who has never been publicly identified.
Rumors swirled, of course. Local reports hinted it might have been a former convenience store employee from Altus. One co-worker at the time said, “If you had to pick someone in town to win it, she’d be the one.” But to this day, the winner’s identity remains under wraps.
Oklahoma’s Ongoing Lucky Streak
Oklahoma may not have crowned a billionaire yet, but the state’s track record is nothing short of impressive—from million-dollar tickets to nine-figure jackpots. Since the lottery first started in 2005, players have racked up hundreds of millions in winnings, with streaks that turned everyday folks into millionaires overnight.
And with the current $1.7 billion Powerball jackpot up for grabs, the question now is: could Oklahoma produce its next legend this weekend?
After all, as lottery fans know, it only takes one ticket, one moment, and one set of numbers to change everything.
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