LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDKY) — A longtime bus driver has retired after discovering he won the Kentucky Lottery Powerball.
Lottery officials said James Keown has worked as a school bus driver for Jefferson County Public Schools for 11 years.
He purchased a ticket from a Circle K in Louisville for the Aug. 19 drawing, according to the lottery. The next morning, he noticed all but one number matched.
The lucky ticket matched four white ball numbers and the Powerball to win the game’s $50,000 prize. Keown chose to add the Power Play feature, multiplying his winnings by the Power Play number drawn. Therefore, his winnings were multiplied by two.
“I called my boss on Sunday, and I told him, ‘I hit the lottery and I’m not coming back,'” James Keown said. “I loved my job, but I’d been thinking about retiring for a while.”
Keown and his wife claimed the prize on the Monday following the Powerball drawing, and he walked away with a check for $71,500 after taxes.
The couple told lottery officials they’ve paid off their bills and plan to use their winnings to support local kitten and cat rescue shelters. They also plan to put some of the money towards a lakefront property.
