‘Special’ numbers help Winston-Salem man win $1 million Powerball prize

November 9, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:51 AM

Benjamin Sinclair of Winston-Salem said a set of lucky numbers helped him win a $1 million Powerball prize.

“I’ve been playing the same numbers for five years,” Sinclair said. “They’re very special to me.”

Sinclair’s good luck began when he stopped at the Sheetz on Fairlawn Drive in Winston-Salem and bought a $2 ticket for the drawing on Oct. 27.

“I only play when the jackpot gets above a certain amount,” Sinclair said. “I knew it was a long shot, but I still used the same numbers.”

He checked his ticket the next evening.

“I had to look at the numbers several times to make sure,” Sinclair said. “It feels great to win.”

Sinclair claimed the prize Thursday afternoon at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $705,011.

The ticket matched the numbers on the five white balls to win the $1 million prize. It beat odds of one in 11.7 million. It was one of eight tickets in North Carolina to win a big prize in the drawing.

The jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball drawing is $92 million or $52.6 million cash.

21 COMMENTS

11/15/2018 07:30 - Berry B.

Congrats 2 u!!

11/14/2018 10:10 - lisa p.

Congratulations! You beat the odds:)

11/14/2018 05:00 - Feraldo R.

Congratulations

11/14/2018 12:18 - Maurice H.

Bless you!

11/14/2018 09:03 - Mike S.

Jim B. Mine is stuck on 18 also, I just entered another drawing and it didn't change - SMH!

11/14/2018 05:57 - Mike S.

Thanks Stephen R. In multi-tiered systems such as NCEL, each programmer has to know what the other programmers are doing (database, web, system admin, etc.) If I were the IT Director I would put them all in one room until it is resolved - and it would be resolved in less than a day. Besides they wouldn't hire me as the IT Director, I'm too direct - and correct!

11/13/2018 04:49 - Stephen R.

It's counting my Lucke rewards old ones as in games that have been done and adding them to my second chance draws, looks like that is what is going on. So the old drawings should not even show up unless you look for them .

11/13/2018 04:49 - JIM B.

Mine has been showing 18 for what seems like forever. I am entered in (6) draws-2 lucky rewards and 4 second chance. Use to bother me but not any more. You can't fix stupid as the saying goes. I've probably been hacked into-who knows?

11/13/2018 04:42 - Stephen R.

Thnx ..Mike S for pointing that out , I think that's what it is doing adding old entries. They should clear the old draws that we enter on the page so it will not count them .Hey Mike S maybe they should hire you to solve some of their problems.

11/13/2018 03:51 - Mike S.

Stephen R. - the Rewards tab has been messed up for years. I've pointed out over and over that the flagging of drawings on the Rewards tab does not change to Expired when the drawing date passes and that is one issue that causes erroneous data to be displayed. Since the Lucke-Rewards tab went missing, the Draws on the dashboard it hasn't been right. It is supposed to count the number of active draws you are entered in, both Rewards and 2nd Chance. I'm entered in 7 draws (2 Rewards and 5 2nd Chance) but my dashboard says 18?!?!?!? Either NCEL doesn't care about it, they have prioritized it very low or the programmers just cannot figure out simple programming. It's pretty simple logic; if the drawing has not occurred (it is Active), look for the players entries in that drawing, if it is greater than 0 then then add that draw to the total count of draws.

11/13/2018 10:21 - Aundra M.

GOOD MORNING, Have the winners been chosen yet for the scratch offs Mega/Power Ball second chance? NC Lottery
Good morning Audra- The drawing has happened and winners have been notified. We'll normally email winners within 24 to 48 hours of the drawing.

11/12/2018 10:24 - Conlest C.

Wonderful I am so happy for him congratulation sir

11/11/2018 02:32 - Kirk X F.

I'm so very happy for you!

11/11/2018 04:25 - Stephen R.

I have 6draws on the second chance but it is showing 9 . Where is the other 3 coming from is this why I can never win ? Is someone using my player page ? NC Lottery
Hey there Stephen, Can you let us know where you are seeing the number that you feel is incorrect? There were some recent updates to the number totals above the "Draws" icon that combines both Lucke-Rewards and Second-Chance entries, and that might explain the difference. If you are concerned that your account has been compromised, please call our Online Support team at 1-855-767-1863 so they can look into it further.

11/10/2018 08:10 - Qiu L.

Hello, May I ask how many entries have been received for the "25000 dream makeover" drawing? Thanks! NC Lottery
As of 11/5, there are 117,527 entries. Hope that helps!

11/10/2018 12:36 - Kelli P.

Re: Joshua K's comment, what is the differnce on taxes/winnings on scratch offs vs draw games? NC Lottery
There is no tax difference. We withhold the minimum state and federal tax on big wins.On scratch-off games, you can choose either the annuity or cash option. Draw games can be different. For example, a group of players recently won $1,000,000 playing Powerball. They split the prize money have minimum taxes were withheld. There was no annuity option.

11/09/2018 09:51 - Janette B.

That is wonderful news and I’m very happy that it paid off for you!

11/09/2018 08:52 - Roger K.

Congratulations on your big win with the special numbers you play! I also have two sets of special numbers I play every cash5 draw, and sometimes MM and PB.. But not very often though on the latter two games. 12 years and counting, just waiting for that special win. Wishing and hoping one day my wish or hope will come true.

11/09/2018 11:46 - Joshua K.

It's amazing how much more money you get to keep by winning 1 million on draw games vs. Winning 1 million on scratch off and taking the cash option, they both should be the same!

11/09/2018 11:17 - Chris P.

Congrats Benjamin!!! I have the same strategy that as yourself. I play the same numbers and only play when the jackpot gets to a certain amount. I have been doing that for several years so you definitely give me hope. Congrats again and enjoy your winnings!!!

11/09/2018 10:55 - Gary C.

Congratulations on the big win with your special numbers!!! I am happy that they finally came up for you after 5 years of waiting!!!

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‘Special’ numbers help Winston-Salem man win $1 million Powerball prize

November 9, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:51 AM