Who Won the PCH PowerPrize? Take a Look!
The largest PCHlotto PowerPrize winner in Publishers Clearing House history was just awarded Saturday, March 3rd — $4,978,632 … and this winning moment will be remembered as one of the best!
Danielle Lam and Howie Guja of the PCH Prize Patrol headed out to Sioux Falls, SD to award the life-changing prize to Carli Steffes, who is a PCH VIP Elite. Awarding this huge “Big Check” was no easy feat, though, as we see so many times here at Publishers Clearing House! The Prize Patrol was joined by an entourage of local media stations when we knocked on Carli’s apartment door… but our knocks went unanswered. Luckily, we have experience with unanswered knocks and went to “Plan B” — finding the apartment manager to get Carli’s number. Well, it worked! With manager Kim Nelson’s help, we were able to find out that Carli was working only 5 minutes away, so our camera crew and news reporters packed up the equipment and went to surprise Carli at work … and Kim joined us!
Carli thought she needed to go outside of her office because a perishable package was arriving that she needed to sign for, so when she saw the Prize Patrol rolling up with balloons, flowers, champagne and of course that “Big Check” you all see on TV — she was SHOCKED!
Carli said, “Right now it’s been a really, really tough time in my life and I needed to get out of here. And this is awesome. Sorry I’m going to cry again. But it’s just a blessing in disguise.” She continued to tell us, “I was on social security disability for ten years and I was having to pay a whole lot back. Now I can take a check and just give it to them. I’m just so happy!” The first person she planned to call is a friend who told her she’d never win. “I can tell him ‘guess what, I’m one in a million. I did it.’”
Before we found Carli, her neighbors told us that she was such a nice woman with a huge heart – and they were right. She’s a cancer survivor and is going to use some of the money to pay off medical bills and help her church. When I asked her if she planned on having any fun with the money she said she would finally get herself a red car and go visit her grandson out of state. She can’t wait to treat her 5 grandkids to things she wasn’t able to before.
As if the $4,978,632 wasn’t enough, we also surprised Carli with a $200 gift card because she’s a PCH VIP Elite and we wanted her to go to a nice dinner and celebrate her big win on us!
Check out this awesome coverage from KDLT in South Dakota of the exciting winning moment!
Carli’s advice to PCH fans was to never give up and enter as much as you can. Carli entered for years but never won anything before — and it only took her one win to become a millionaire!
We wish you all the best of luck and hope to see you at YOUR door one day! Enter today and every day!
Danielle Lam
Elite Prize Patrol Member
