RALEIGH - John Taylor of Henderson did not let a little rain stop him from driving to the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) headquarters on Wednesday to claim his lottery winnings. Taylor won the top prize on the “$200,000 Jackpot” instant scratch-off ticket he bought at Rose Gin Bait & Tackle on Nutbush Road in Henderson.
Taylor says he scratched off the ticket in his car after purchasing it, and that he just sat there for awhile after realizing it was worth $200,000, letting it sink in. He finally called his mother to tell her the good news, but when he claimed his prize he said he was still a little in shock. Taylor plans to put his winnings in the bank and think about how he’ll use the money.
Joe Perry of Louisburg bought his “$200,000 Jackpot” at Farmer’s Foods on Bickett Boulevard in Louisburg. He says he bought the ticket because two days earlier he had a feeling that he was going to win. That feeling turned out to be true when he scratched off his ticket and it revealed the top prize of $200,000!
Perry says he will spend his winnings carefully. He plans to give back to the community, and perhaps buy himself a new car—maybe a Cadillac, he said with a smile.
One ticket in the Feb. 16 “Carolina Cash 5” drawing matched all five numbers drawn to win the top prize of $176,433, and that ticket belonged to Vikisha Edwards of Greensboro. Edwards says she went to the C & C Market on Lawndale Drive in Greensboro after work the night of Feb. 16 and was only planning to buy a “Carolina Pick 3” ticket. At the last minute, though, she decided to buy a “Carolina Cash 5” ticket, too.
The next day Edwards says she called the NCEL’s automated Player Hotline to find out the winning numbers. As she heard her numbers being called out, she says she thought to herself, “I am doing really well!” Once she saw that all five of her numbers matched, she realized she’d won the top prize and says she was ecstatic! Edwards plans to save her winnings for her family and to buy a new car.
The jackpot for the Wednesday, Feb. 18 Powerball drawing is up to $125 million! In the Wednesday, Feb. 18 Powerball drawing, a total of 47,272 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes ranging from $30,000 down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $391,305.
Two tickets in last night’s Powerball drawing matched four out of five white balls plus the Powerball and were Power Played. Since the Power Play number was three, the normal $10,000 prize was increased to $30,000! These tickets were sold at White’s Shopping Center on Highway 64/264 in Manns Harbor and Piggly Wiggly on North Norwood Street in Wallace.
The NCEL has paid out more than $5 million total in instant scratch-off ticket prizes since Monday, Feb. 16. Also since Monday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won more than $280,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $1 million in prizes.
