After four weeks of waiting, two Bismarck residents showed up at the North Dakota Lottery office Friday to claim the $400,000 Powerball ticket sold here in January.

The two individuals, who wish to remain anonymous, claimed the Jan. 26 winning Powerball ticket. The lucky players have been pooling their lottery tickets with the agreement to split the winnings.

"Sometimes we don't check our tickets for weeks," was the comment from one of the winners. After reading the story in the newspaper, the duo began checking the winning numbers on the Lottery's Web site. "We couldn't believe we won. I kept checking the ticket again and again to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!"

The winning Powerball with Power Play ticket, purchased at Main Tesoro in Bismarck, matched the five white balls and because the multiplier was two, the $200,000 prize doubled to $400,000. The winners do not have plans to spend the prize money. "Right now we are still trying to absorb the fact that we won," was another comment.

Fourteen lottery players in North Dakota have won $100,000 or more playing Powerball since the game was launched in 2004.