RALEIGH - Daniel Vinson of Fayetteville thought he’d only won $200,000 in last night’s Powerball drawing until he called his son to tell him his ticket matched all five white balls drawn. That’s when his son reminded him that he had Power Played and his ticket was actually worth $1 million! When asked if he’d forgotten about having Power Played, Vinson said, “I guess I was just so excited about having won $200,000!”
Vinson purchased his winning ticket at Rainbow Grocery on Dunn Road in Fayetteville. He says he will take his family on a cruise to the Caribbean and then put the rest away for retirement.
Philip Bronikowski of Clayton also matched all five white balls drawn in last night’s Powerball drawing but did not Power Play. He claimed his $200,000 prize earlier today and says he picked his own numbers for the ticket. He checked his numbers online this morning and then says he had to check them again and again to make sure what he was seeing was correct. He plans to save his winnings.
In addition to these winning tickets, two North Carolina tickets in last night’s Powerball drawing matched four out of five white balls plus the Powerball and are worth $10,000 each. These tickets were sold at Duck Thru Food Store on 10th Street in Greenville and at Scotchman on South 17th Street in Wilmington.
No one matched all five white balls plus the Powerball, so the jackpot for the Saturday, Jan. 17 Powerball drawing is an estimated $165 million! A total of 53,691 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes in the Wednesday, Jan. 14 Powerball drawing, ranging from $1 million down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $1,739,882.
Matthew Alton of Gastonia is an occasional Powerball player who says he always makes sure to Power Play. That decision made him a millionaire when his ticket for the Dec. 31 Powerball drawing matched all five white balls drawn.
Alton says he plans to use his winnings to further his education at UNC-Charlotte. He says he won’t splurge on anything but, as a car enthusiast, may use some of his winnings to get his car painted. Alton purchased his winning ticket at One Stop Grocery on East Franklin Boulevard in Gastonia.
For Charles Jones of Clayton, “Carolina Cash 5” is his lucky game. He stopped for gas at the Hasty Mart on N.C. Highway 42 in Clayton and decided to go inside the store to get a receipt. While there, he decided to buy a lottery ticket. That ticket for the Jan. 14 “Carolina Cash 5” drawing won him $344,204 when it matched all five numbers drawn.
Jones learned of his win this morning around 5 a.m. He says he checked his numbers on the computer and then woke up his wife to tell her the good news. He says he will invest his winnings for retirement.
Stacy Finch of Holly Springs plans to “have a little fun” with his lottery winnings. He bought a “$200,000 Jackpot” ticket and won the top prize of $200,000! Finch says a trip is in his future and possibly some new golf clubs. Finch purchased his winning ticket at Oakhall Exxon on North Main Street in Holly Springs.
The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) has paid out more than $4 million total in instant scratchoff ticket prizes since Monday, Jan. 12. Also since Monday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won more than $493,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $945,000 in prizes.
