Pine Bluff native wins largest ever Natural State Jackpot prize

Arkansas Delta Information – June 23, 2022 — Pine Bluff native Kashema Marks has won the biggest ever Natural State Jackpot (NSJ) prize of $520,000.

Marks claimed her prize today (Thursday, June 23) at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center in Little Rock. She purchased the winning $1 Quick Pick Natural State Jackpot ticket on the Jackpocket lottery app for the June 18 drawing. The winning numbers for that night’s drawing were 12, 21, 26, 29, and 34.

“I play the lottery daily, so I noticed the advertising about the jackpot hitting new records,” Marks told lottery officials. “I bought around $45 worth of tickets that Saturday afternoon – half of them were Quick Picks, and I selected my own numbers for the rest.”

Marks visited the lottery’s website to check the winning numbers after the drawing was held Saturday night.

“This has to be a dream” was Marks’ first thought when she saw the winning numbers. “Earlier this year, I wrote on a piece of paper that I was going to win the lottery after learning about manifestation from a friend. When I realized I wasn’t dreaming, I started screaming and running down the street.”

Marks first told her mother and sisters about her win. With her winnings, she plans to help her family, purchase a new car and house, and save the rest.

“My mom has literally told everyone in Pine Bluff about me winning the lottery, and it seems like my sisters have announced it to the rest of the world,” she chuckled.

The Natural State Jackpot is at $65,000 for tonight’s drawing. Players also have two chances to become a multi-millionaire this week with Powerball® and Mega Millions® jackpots totaling more than $647 million. The Mega Millions jackpot stands at $312 million for tomorrow’s drawing. The Powerball jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing has reached $335 million.

More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions, and other expenses in Arkansas. Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion in proceeds for scholarships. More than 675,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4 billion in prizes to players, about $349 million in retailer commissions, and provided more than $154 million in state and federal tax revenue.

For more information on game odds and how to play, visit MyArkansasLottery.com.