RALEIGH - Thomas Newton of Youngsville was at Kelsey’s Mini Mart on Highway 96 in Franklinton when he decided to buy one $10 instant scratch-off ticket. Newton says he usually buys the “$130 Million Blockbuster” ticket, but the store only had “Double Cash Blowout,” so that’s what he bought. It turned out to be a lucky ticket, worth $200,000!

Newton says his plans for his winnings include giving to charity and investing for retirement. He says he already travels for work, but wouldn’t mind going to Tahiti with some of the prize money, too.

Paul Pearson of Brooklyn, New York, was visiting his family in Jacksonville at Thanksgiving when he decided to buy a ticket for the Nov. 22 Powerball drawing. That decision won him $200,000 when his ticket matched all five white balls drawn.

Pearson plans was uncertain how he would spend his winnings. He bought his winning ticket at CJ Food Store on Gum Branch Road in Jacksonville.

In the Dec. 8 “Carolina Cash 5” drawing, one ticket matched all five numbers drawn to win the $55,247 top prize. This ticket was sold at Wilco on East Ashe Street in Goldsboro.

In the Dec. 9 Powerball drawing, two tickets matched four out of five white balls plus the Powerball and are worth $10,000 each. These tickets were sold at Short stop on Highway 5 in Pinehurst and Lowes Foods on Lewisville-Clemmons Road in Clemmons.

A total of 27,735 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes in the Wednesday, Dec. 10 Powerball drawing, ranging from $10,000 down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $280,959. No one matched all five white balls plus the Powerball to win the jackpot, so the jackpot for the Saturday, Dec. 13 Powerball drawing is an estimated $40 million.

The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) has paid out more than $4.8 million total in instant scratch-off ticket prizes since Monday, Dec. 8. Also since Monday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won nearly $140,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $754,000 in prizes.