RALEIGH - Deloris Roberson of Windsor had never played the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) before; but on Saturday, Dec. 13, as Roberson was Christmas shopping with her adult daughter, she noticed that the same numbers kept appearing in her sales totals. She decided to stop at the Country Mart on N.C. 11 North in Bethel and buy one “Carolina Cash 5” ticket for that night’s drawing, using the numbers she’d seen all day long.

After the televised drawing, Roberson’s daughter woke her up with a good news phone call—her numbers matched all five drawn to win the top prize of $218,218! Roberson plans to put part of her winnings in savings and use some of it to help her family and church. She also plans to take a vacation next summer with some of the winnings.

A total of 38,098 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes in the Saturday, Dec. 13 Powerball drawing, ranging from $200 down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $231,204. No one matched all five white balls plus the Powerball to win the jackpot, so the jackpot for the Wednesday, Dec. 17 Powerball drawing is an estimated $50 million.

The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) has paid out more than $5.3 million total in instant scratchoff ticket prizes since Thursday, Dec. 11. Also since Thursday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won more than $359,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $1.4 million in prizes.