RALEIGH - Walter Ellis of Henderson is looking forward to doing some home remodeling with his recent lottery winnings. His “Carolina Cash 5” ticket for the Jan. 5 drawing matched all five numbers drawn to win the $208,270 top prize. Ellis purchased his winning ticket at College Station on U.S. 158 Bypass in Henderson.
For Jose Guevara of Sanford, happenstance made him buy his winning lottery ticket. Guevara was with a friend who needed to buy some medicine for his sick child. They stopped at the Kerr Drug on South Horner Boulevard in Sanford for the medicine, and while they were there, Guevara’s friend suggested he buy a ticket.
Guevara says he was going to buy one of the $2 instant scratch-off tickets but the cashier suggested the new “$200,000 Jackpot” ticket instead, which costs $5. He bought one ticket and as he scratched it off at home, he says could not believe his eyes when it revealed the top prize of $200,000. Guevara plans to use his winnings to further his education and visit family in El Salvador.
Cousins Lula Haile and Selena Gebremedhin, both from Charlotte, stopped to get a drink at the Fast Stop I on Rozzells Ferry Road in Charlotte. While inside the store, they decided to split the cost of a few lottery tickets as well. After making their purchases, they went back to the car to scratch them off and saw that the “$200,000 Jackpot” instant scratch-off ticket they had bought was worth the top prize of $200,000! Among their plans for their winnings are a family vacation, shopping and furthering their education.
The Powerball jackpot is up to $120 million! In last night’s drawing, four North Carolina tickets matched four out of five white balls plus the Powerball and are worth $10,000 each. These tickets were sold at Accel on West Plaza Drive in Mooresville, Glenwood BP Fiddle-Stix on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, Anson Mart on East Caswell Street in Wadesboro, and Parker’s News on South Main Street in High Point.
A total of 52,794 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes in the Wednesday, Jan. 7 Powerball drawing, ranging from $10,000 down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $560,775. No one matched all five white balls plus the Powerball, so the jackpot for the Saturday, Jan. 10 Powerball drawing is an estimated $120 million.
One ticket in the Jan. 7 “Carolina Cash 5” drawing matched all five white balls drawn and is worth $78,893. The ticket was sold at Circle K on Highway 49 North in Mount Pleasant.
The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) has paid out more than $4.5 million total in instant scratchoff ticket prizes since Monday, Jan. 5. Also since Monday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won more than $392,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $1.1 million in prizes.
