RALEIGH – For more than three decades, the public has been lucky to have Dave Hebert on their side. After serving in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, he spent the next 28 years fighting fires. In Saturday’s Powerball drawing, just a month away from retirement in December, it was Hebert’s turn to be lucky: He won $100,000.

“I looked at it a couple times,” Hebert recalled as he checked the numbers on his Quick Pick ticket against the winning numbers on the lottery’s website Monday morning. “When I hit the Powerball I said, ‘Oh man, that’s $50,000.’ And I had a Power Play ticket, so that made it worth the $100,000.”

Hebert won $80,000 more than he would have just a month earlier. New Powerball game rules went into effect on Oct. 4 that boosted the base prize for matching four white balls and the red Powerball from $10,000 to $50,000. And, because the Power Play multiplier was two, his winnings were doubled.

Hebert, a married father of three, said his after-tax winnings of $69,250 would help pay for his kids’ college educations, pay bills – and maybe have a little fun.

“I was looking at a motorcycle on Craigslist the other day,” Hebert said. “If there’s anything left over after we take care of the important things, I might take a closer look.”

Hebert purchased his lucky $3 Power Play ticket at the Harris Teeter on Capital Boulevard in Wake Forest.

Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot is a $142 million annuity, worth $88.5 million cash.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how $275 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Wake County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.