A stop at a Chinese restaurant led Phillip Vince Sr. of Hope Mills to a $100,000 Powerball prize Monday night.
“I have numbers I saved from my fortune cookie that I use,” Vince said. “I’ve been playing them for about six months.”
Vince bought his lucky $3 Power Play ticket using Online Play on the lottery’s app. He said he likes the convenience of using the app. He matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000 in Monday’s drawing. The prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X Power Play multiplier hit.
“It’s crazy because Friday night I was only one number away from hitting the jackpot on Cash 5,” he said.
Vince said the win adds to a week full of celebrations for his family. His anniversary with his wife is on Saturday and their first grandchild was born on Thursday.
“It’s definitely been a great week,” he said. “And it’s a nice anniversary gift too.”
Vince claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $71,251.
He said will use the winnings to pay some bills, save for retirement, and “maybe splurge a little bit.”
Saturday’s Powerball drawing offers a $262 million jackpot, or $133.2 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
Powerball is one of six 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.
Ticket sales from draw games like Powerball make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $23 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cumberland County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.