Kenneth Morrison, a retired high school coach and teacher, said winning $200,000 in a Powerball drawing means he will set aside money for his grandchildren’s education and finally take his wife on that dream trip to Hawaii.

Morrison, who lives in Hickory, said he is a regular Powerball player, trying his luck weekly with lucky numbers made up of birthdays of family members and the number of years he has been married.

His big win came in the Nov. 4 Powerball drawing when those lucky numbers matched four of the white balls and the red Powerball. He also buys $3 Power Play tickets so that meant the regular $50,000 prize turned into $200,000 when the 4x multiplier came up in the drawing.

Morrison bought the lucky ticket at the Lowe’s Foods on 29th Avenue N.E. in Hickory, but was at the lottery’s Charlotte office when he found out how much he had won.

“I looked over to my wife and told her, ‘We can afford dinner tonight,’” he recalled. “It feels pretty good. It’s not a lot of money, but it is more than I’ve ever had at one time. When we first got married I promised to take her to Hawaii. Now I can take her.”

Morrison claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters. After state and federal tax withholdings, he received $138,500.

Powerball drawings are held each Wednesday and Saturday. The jackpot on Wednesday is an estimated $90 million as an annuity and $55.1 million as a lump sum.

As a former educator, Morrison said he’s glad the lottery supports education in North Carolina. “That’s one of the reasons I play,” he added.

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 $49.9 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Catawba County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” section of the lottery’s website.