Barbara Haley of Sioux City won $150,000 playing Powerball.
Steve Haley of Sioux City screwed up, big time.
Haley and his wife, Barbara, have been playing the same set of numbers in the Powerball lottery for more than 30 years. The numbers — 1, 5, 9, 27 and 28, represent his family’s birthdates. The Powerball number (14) is their daughter’s age when they started playing years ago.
But when he was buying a ticket for the Jan. 23 Powerball jackpot, worth $23.2 million, Steve mistakenly marked an “8” instead of a “9.”
That mistake won the Haleys $150,000 when the ticket matched four of the white numbers drawn that night (5, 8, 17, 27, 28) plus the Powerball (14).
“We thought we were going to get $300. Because he put an 8 instead, we got $150,000,” Barbara Haley told Iowa Lottery officials when she stopped in to claim the prize late last month.
The couple beat odds of 1 in 913,129 of matching four numbers plus the Powerball. The odds of matching all six numbers and winning the jackpot are 1 in 292 million. Because they paid $1 extra for a multiplier, their $50,000 prize was tripled.
“I’m always saying, ‘Why don’t you just wear your glasses?’” Barbara Haley told lottery officials with a laugh. “I’m going to quit complaining.”
The Haleys aren’t the only recent lottery winners in Nebraska and western Iowa.
A 58-year-old Plattsmouth man — who requested anonymity — won $148,000 in Monday’s Nebraska Pick 5 drawing. He matched all five numbers (4, 7, 14, 30, 33) on a ticket he purchased at a Bakers supermarket on Twin Creek Drive in Bellevue.
Cecilia Reiser of Cozad claimed a $50,000 prize Monday for playing the Cash Crush scratch-off game. She told Nebraska Lottery officials she plans to buy a car with her winnings.
Fernando Millan of Schuyler won $47,777 Feb. 5 playing the Nebraska Lottery’s Lucky 7s Crossword Tripler.
Michael Homes of Scribner won a Ford F-150 truck in the 2021 edition of the Nebraska Lottery’s $2 Truck$ & Buck$ scratch-off game. The truck was presented Feb. 2.
James Harris of Council Bluffs won $30,000 in the Iowa Lottery’s Lucky $ Hunt scratch-off game Feb. 3.
Our best Omaha staff photos of February 2021
Kearney's Richard Harbols dives in the boys Nebraska state dive competition on Thursday.
Lincoln Southeast's Katerina Hoffman competes in the NSAA state diving championship on Thursday.
North Platte's Jonathan Brouillette is reflected in the swimming pool as he competes in the NSAA boys state diving championship on Thursday.
An ice jam forms on the Platte River west of the Highway 77 bridge near Fremont on Monday. Observers in eastern Nebraska will be looking out for signs of flooding as the weather warms up. “We’re just waiting to see how the snow will melt over the next couple of days,” said hydrologist David Pearson of the National Weather Service office in Valley. “We’ll be watching closely.”
Omaha Skutt's Adam Kruse, left, and Gothenberg's Abe Mendez, right, wrestle during a Class B 138 pound match.
Millard South's Joel Adams celebrates after defeating North Platte's Darian Diaz during the Class A 138 pound championship match.
A few snowflakes fell in Omaha on Wednesday.
Creighton's Greg McDermott congratulates Denzel Mahoney on a made 3-pointer against Villanova.
Gretna's John Weed, facing, and Millard South's Antrell Taylor compete in the first round of the 160 pound, Class A state wrestling tournament in Omaha on Wednesday.
Frost collects on a sheet of ice in a parking lot in South Omaha on Tuesday. Omaha set a record low on Tuesday, dipping to 23 degrees below zero.
PJ Smith, an administrator at Grand Island Northwest, helps set up mats on Tuesday for the state wrestling tournament at the CHI Health Center. The tournament starts today and runs through Saturday. Read more in Sports.
Dr. Michael Howard listens to the heart of Bella, a Boston terrier puppy at Best Care Pet Hospital In Omaha on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. Bella was anesthetized before power was cut to the south Omaha neighborhood where they are located because of extreme temperatures in the region. Omaha's low Dr. Howard was prepping to spay Bella by window light before the power did come back on. They had performed one surgery with no power already that morning.
Neymar walks around in a sweater after a power outage at Best Care Pet Hospital at 3030 L Street on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. Extreme temperatures forces rolling blackouts in the area.
Sunlight filters through the steam as cars head east on Leavenworth Street towards 16th Street as the low in the area was close to 20 degrees below zero on Tuesday, February 16, 2021.
Steam rises out of the Missouri River around the Interstate 480 bridge as viewed from Tom Hanafan River's Edge Park in Council Bluffs early Tuesday, Feb. 16. Lows in the Omaha metro area were around 23 degrees below zero. The steam caused icy roads and the temporary closure of the bridge.
Owner Gary Wrenn moves catfish filets from the cornmeal dredge to the fryers at Cajun Kitchen on 30th and Maple Streets in Omaha on Monday.
Firefighters work to put out a fire in an apartment building at 10th and William Street in Omaha on Monday.
Omaha's Matt Miller (27) moves behind the net, near Colorado College's Matthew Gleason (15), Brian Hawkinson (29) and Matt Vernon (30) in the Colorado College vs. Omaha hockey game at the Baxter Arena in Omaha on Friday. The Mavericks won the game 7-1.
Erin Gramke gives Sigurd Sorenson his second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the VA Medical Center in Omaha on Thursday. Sorenson, 84, served in the Army.
Rev. Ralph Lassiter sits inside Kohl's Pharmacy during the observation period after his second COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Rev. Lassiter wants to set a good example for his community by receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and stressing its' safety.
The Bellevue West bench celebrates a three-pointer in the Waukee vs. Bellevue West boys basketball game on Tuesday. Bellevue West won the game 74-60.
Hand-painted bonbons for a Valentine's Day special are flavored with, from left, raspberry, passion fruit, vanilla bean salted caramel and milk chocolate, from Sugar Makery BitterSweet in Council Bluffs.
A Gibson Les Paul is one of more than 70 guitars in the exhibit.
A crane lifts a small plane that had its landing gear collapse while landing at Eppley Airfield on Friday. Two people were on board the plane; neither was injured.
Creighton's Damien Jefferson is called for a foul against Georgetown's Jamorko Pickett at CHI HealthCenter on Wednesday, February 03, 2021.
Avante Dickerson talks to members of the media after he announced he was signing to play football at the University of Oregon at Omaha Westside High School on Wednesday, February 3, 2021.
Rime ice forms on the trees at the Chalco Hills Recreation Area on Tuesday, February 02, 2021.
Two people jog around Prairie Queen Recreation Area as a freezing fog covers the region on Tuesday, February 02, 2021.
Frost hangs onto a fence in Omaha on Tuesday, February 02, 2021.
sliewer@owh.com; twitter.com/Steve Liewer
Steve Liewer
Steve is the military affairs reporter for The World-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @SteveLiewer. Phone: 402-444-1186.
