James Mosley of High Shoals almost quit playing his lucky Powerball numbers right before they brought him a $250,000 prize.

“I’ve played the same numbers for years and three weeks ago I thought about stopping but my wife convinced me not to,” he laughed.

Mosley said he plays a combination of family birthdays.

“I use my birthday, her birthday, and three of our grandkids’ birthdays,” he said.

Mosley bought his lucky $3 ticket for the Sept. 23 drawing from Will’s Food Stores on Dallas High Shoals Highway in Dallas. He matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000. Because he bought a Power Play ticket, his prize quintupled to $250,000 when the 5X multiplier hit.

“I called my wife to tell her and she didn’t believe it,” Mosley recalled. “She said, ‘Don’t be lying to me.’”

He arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to claim his winnings and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $180,026.

He plans to use his winnings to remodel his home.

Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $562 million annuity or $230.4 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

Powerball is one of six draw 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 the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

Education programs in Gaston County received $14.2 million in support from lottery funds last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.