RALEIGH - The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) will pay out more than double what it took in on sales for the midday Carolina Pick 3 game with a “triples” hit. The triple 5s on today’s midday Carolina Pick 3 drawing produced a payout total of $468,000. Sales for this afternoon’s drawing reached $201,861. The highest payout on Carolina Pick 3 triples in NCEL history was $1,365,750 for the evening drawing on Dec. 16, 2007 when the numbers 7-7-7 were drawn.

“This is the sixth time there has been trips (triple numbers) on Carolina Pick 3,” said Pamela Walker, NCEL spokesperson. “Carolina Pick 3 players seem to get really excited when trips hit. Out of all the number combinations triple numbers are normally the most played.”

Here is the history of triple numbers for the NCEL:

Drawing date     Winning numbers
Sept. 3, 2008     5-5-5
May 29, 2008     3-3-3
May 6, 2008       1-1-1
Jan. 19, 2008     0-0-0
Dec. 16, 2007     7-7-7
March 23, 2007  1-1-1

“Carolina Pick 3” is a 3-digit numbers game where the player chooses a 3-digit number between 000 and 999. The top prize is $500 for all players who match all three numbers in exact order drawn. There are other prize levels depending on the amount played and type of play. “Carolina Pick 3” drawings are held Monday through Saturday at 3 p.m. and Monday through Sunday at 11:22 p.m.