Patience pays off for $70 million Powerball winners

ST. LOUIS (AP) – For two decades, Tom Rea of St. Louis played the same Powerball numbers.

It finally paid off — in a big way.

The Missouri Lottery on Wednesday introduced the 62-year-old Rea and his wife, Cathy, as winners of a $70 million Powerball jackpot from the July 4 drawing. The couple claimed the prize at the Missouri Lottery headquarters in Jefferson City on Friday.

The winning numbers, a combination of family birthdays, matched all five white balls and the Powerball. Rea purchased the winning ticket at a Gas Mart store on Hampton Avenue in south St. Louis.

Rea says he had been playing the same number combination every Wednesday and Saturday for 23 years.