A check of the winning numbers in the Mega Millions drawing led Donald West of Hayesville to discover he won $1 million in the Powerball drawing the day before.
“On the website I saw a million-dollar ticket was sold in Hayesville,” West said. “Then I realized I hadn’t checked my Powerball numbers Tuesday like I normally do.”
West, 63, checked and saw that he matched numbers on all five white balls to win the $1 million prize in Monday’s drawing. The odds of matching all five white balls are 1 in 11.6 million.
“I was ecstatic,” West said. “I had to check 15 to 20 times just to confirm it.”
West bought the lucky $2 Quick Pick ticket from the Ingles on U.S. 64 East in Hayesville. He claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $710,100.
He said he didn’t know yet what he would spend his winnings on besides paying some bills.
Saturday’s Powerball drawing offers an $80 million jackpot, or $46.4 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
Powerball is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. The other games are Mega Millions, Lucky For Life, and Carolina Cash 5.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day on average for education. The state provided $42.2 million in grants, using money raised by the lottery, to help Clay County build new schools. For details on other ways Clay County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.