What Happened During Louisiana's Record Powerball Night?

(KMDL-FM) April 29, 2026, will go down in Louisiana Lottery history as the night "everybody won a million dollars" playing Powerball. Okay, not everybody, but there were 62 million dollar winners sold for the Powerball game that night.

27 of those winners had the Power Play option of the game on their tickets. Five of the million-dollar winners were sold in Louisiana. We now know the identities of two more of those brand-new Louisiana Powerball Millionaires.

In retrospect, the Powerball drawing on April 29, 2026, wasn't that "spectacular" to begin with. The game's jackpot was $143 million. By Powerball standards, that is a nice amount, but not the kind of jackpot that creates a frenzy.

The frenzy came after the drawing, not only did the game's jackpot get split between two winning tickets, but there were 89 tickets sold across the Powerball footprint that earned a prize of one million dollars or more. In total, 11 tickets sold in Louisiana for that drawing earned a one-million-dollar prize or more. Now you see why the Louisiana Lottery looks at this as the "night everybody won a million dollars".

If You Win a Large Lottery Prize In Louisiana Can You Remain Anonymous?

To quote New Orleans Saints broadcaster Bobby Hebert, the answer to that question is "Yeah, but no". Yes, you can choose not to make a public announcement of your winnings. But because of the way Louisiana lottery and tax laws are written, any payment from the Lottery will show up on the public record.

It won't show up as "Lottery winner," but there will be your name and a specific amount of money, and you don't have to be too good at math to connect the dots, if you know what I mean. But some people do choose to come forward, and in the case of the April 29th Powerball winners, we now know two more of the big winners' names.

What Are The Names of Louisiana's Latest Powerball Millionaires?

George McLeod of Singer claimed his $2 million prize from the Lottery Offices on May 21st. Mr. McLeod's final check after taxes was $1.46 million. The store that sold the ticket, the Singer Food Store in Singer, Louisiana, also earned a $20,000 bonus for being the store that sold the big winner.

Also, one of the one million dollar winners, Smiles Enterprises, collected their winnings on May 29th. The final prize after taxes and fees was $730,000. The store that sold that winner, Magnolia Discount in Gretna, earned a bonus of $10,000. By the way, if you want to stay "anonymous" after a big lottery win, forming a company or organization such as Smiles Enterprises might be a good way to keep your name and personal details out of the public eye.

Louisiana Lottery officials say only one ticket, a one-million-dollar winner from April 29th, has yet to be claimed. All of the other big money prizes are in the hands and bank accounts of winners.

Louisiana Lottery

Remember, when you do win big, make sure you sign the back of your ticket. It protects your rights as a winner when you do. And remember, you only have 180 days after a lottery win to claim your prize. The outstanding $1 million winner still has over 130 days remaining to collect their winnings.

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The Unclaimed Prize page at the Louisiana Lottery website shows unclaimed cash winners with significant amounts from Marrero, Covington, Rayville, Baton Rouge, Plaquemine, and Washington, Louisiana. If you've played recently, it might behoove you to check your coat pockets and car seats for tickets that might be worth a lot more than you think.

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Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells