RALEIGH - Richard Langston of Graham says he thought he’d made a mistake when he looked at the “$150,000 Anniversary Cash” instant scratch-off ticket in his hand. But what he was seeing turned out to be real—his ticket was worth the top prize of $150,000!

Langston says he checked his ticket four times before believing that he’d really won the top prize. He then called the North Carolina Education Lottery’s (NCEL’s) Player Hotline to find out how to claim the prize. Any prize $100,000 and above must be claimed at the NCEL’s headquarters in Raleigh.

Langston plans to use the prize money for his retirement. He purchased his winning ticket at the Food Lion #591 on South Main Street in Graham.

Two tickets in the Saturday, June 7, Powerball drawing matched four out of five white balls plus the Powerball and are worth $10,000 each. These tickets were sold at Nichols Food Store #1 on Main Street in Belmont and Wilco #1872 on N.C. Highway 33 East in Greenville.

A total of 37,273 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes in the Saturday, June 7, drawing, ranging from $10,000 down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $239,763. No one matched all five white balls and the Powerball to win the jackpot, so the Powerball jackpot for the Wednesday, June 11, Powerball drawing is $25 million.

The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) has paid out more than $5.1 million total in instant scratch-off ticket prizes since Thursday, June 5. Also since Thursday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won more than $118,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $847,000 in prizes.