CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Tyler County woman said Tuesday she hoped to make life better for her four daughters after collecting a $2 million Powerball check at West Virginia Lottery headquarters in Charleston.
Sistersville resident Bev Swartzmiller missed only the Powerball in Saturday night’s drawing. She played the Powerplay option so she won $2 million instead of $1 million.
Swartzmiller said she really had no plans on playing but decided to stop at the ParMar convenience store in Sistersville after picking up a pizza. She checked the numbers Sunday morning.
“I looked at the numbers and they all came out just like they were on my ticket,” she recalled. “I just started reading ‘2, 5, whoa!'”
Swartzmiller and her husband own a body shop in Sistersville. She said they may take a trip or make some improvements around their house but mainly the money would go to her daughters.
“I want them all to have a better life than what they’ve got,” she said. “I can’t help them a whole bunch but every bit helps.”
Swartzmiller also has eight grandchildren. She said she plays Powerball about twice a month and always chooses the Powerplay option.
She had hoped to keep the news a secret. She had yet to tell her daughters and drove to Charleston with her husband to Lottery headquarters unannounced Tuesday.
“I didn’t want to be interviewed,” she laughed.
Swartzmiller said she also plans to give money to her church.
She took home a lump sum, after taxes, of $1.37 million.