Who can blame people for picking Friday as their favorite day of the week? After all, that’s when we share the stories of some of the luckiest folks in North Carolina. This week, players in our great state scored more than $17 million in prizes.
But, before we get too far into the extended holiday weekend, we remind players of the Ultimate Fan scratch-off game that the entry deadline for the final second-chance drawing is 11:59 p.m. Friday night. So, be sure to get any non-winning tickets you have entered before then! Each of two winners will go on a $20,000 racing destination vacation, get behind the wheel of a race car, and receive their choice of luxury RV or VIP suite accommodations.
OK, now on to the week’s biggest winners. Without a doubt, top honors go to John Murphy of Laurinburg. A North Carolina native, Murphy retired eight years ago after a 30-year career working in textile factories. Then, Wednesday night, he won $1 million playing Powerball. After realizing he matched all five white balls in the drawing, he shared the good news with his girlfriend, Tammy Mayo.
“He walked in and said, ‘Baby I hit,’” Mayo recalled. “I said, ‘Hit what?’” After Murphy showed her the winning ticket, Mayo was stunned. “I looked at it again and said ‘You got all five numbers!’”
As we always do when we meet lucky folks like Mr. Murphy, we wish him and his family the very best of luck.
Because no ticket matched all six numbers in the drawing that made Mr. Murphy a millionaire, the Powerball jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing is an estimated $128 million.
While we’re talking about jackpots, heading into the weekend, the Mega Millions jackpot stands at $24 million and the Carolina Cash 5 jackpot has rolled all the way up to $293,000. We still don’t know who won $203,656 in the Friday, May 18 Cash 5 drawing. The ticket was sold at the Variety Pic-Up on N.C. 71 in Wendell in Wake County.
Who else had a week to remember? How about Georgia Burton of Durham: She bought four Mega Bucks tickets last Saturday – and won a prize on all four.
“The first one was the $100,000 ticket,” Burton said. “I had to turn on the lights and get my glasses. Then I kept scratching and I won $5, then another $5 and then $75. I’ve never had a run like that before. I had to take a walk to calm down.”
Burton told us she plans to use her winnings to pay bills, save for her grandsons and maybe take a vacation.
Let’s take a look at prize totals to players of North Carolina’s draw games this week. Pick 3 players won more than $2.2 million, Pick 4 players won more than $546,000, and Cash 5 players won more than $433,000.
Three other players scratched off wins of $10,000 or more this week. A player from Raeford won $10,000 on a 20X the Money ticket. The top prize of $25,000 on the Bass Pro Shops $25,000 Cash Adventure ticket was awarded to a player from Morganton. And a Crossword Cash Multiplier ticket spelled $30,000 for a player from Shelby.
So, we’ll sign off and wish everyone the best this holiday weekend. As many get to enjoy an extra day off, we think it is also a good time to remember the sacrifices of those who made it possible. Enjoy, take care, and see you next week here in the Lucke-Zone.
Login to leave a comment.