A construction company owner who used his $1 in change to buy a lottery ticket has claimed the largest Powerball jackpot in Louisiana history -- $97 MILLION DOLLARS.

Carl Hunter and his wife, Dianne, arrived at the headquarters of the Louisiana Lottery in Baton Rouge Thursday morning to claim the prize.  They couple lives in Metairie.

The couple chose to receive a lump sum payment of nearly $34 million dollars after taxes.  The exact amount of their winnings came to $33,935,204,14.

Carl Hunter says he bought a gallon of milk at a gas station and used his $1 in change to buy the winning Powerball ticket.  Carl, a 73-year-old construction company owner, says he plans to retire tomorrow.

The drawing was held on January 16th.   

The winning ticket was sold on at West Metairie Shell on West Metairie Avenue in Metairie.  The winner had 180 days to claim his or her prize.  Mr. Hunter claimed his prize 113 days after the drawing, saying he needed the time to get his financial planning in order.

The winning numbers were 9-18-19-38-47, with a Powerball number of 11.  Carl Hunter says he bought a "quick pick" ticket, meaning the numbers were randomly drawn by a computer.

The owner of the store where the winning ticket was sold received a one-time bonus of $25,000.

Prior to this win, the largest Powerball jackpot won in Louisiana was a $48.1 million prize claimed by Jerry Berggen and Cathy DeMuynck of Kenner in March of 2002.

From wafb.com