Guilford County man wins $1 million Powerball prize

October 22, 2021 Posted by NC Lottery at 10:32 AM

Charles Darkwah of Greensboro took a chance on a $2 Powerball ticket for Wednesday’s drawing and won a $1 million prize.

Darkwah’s $2 ticket matched numbers on five white balls to win $1 million, the largest prize won nationally in the drawing. The odds of matching five white balls in a drawing are 1 in 11.6 million.

He purchased his winning ticket from the Circle K on North Main Street in Archdale. He claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $707,501.

Saturday’s Powerball jackpot weighs in at $86 million. A winner would have the choice of the $86 million annuity or $60.9 million in cash. Since Aug. 23, Powerball drawings are now held three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

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 either 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 draw games like Powerball make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $32 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Guilford County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.

13 COMMENTS

10/25/2021 09:34 - ALVIN L.

How often does an online player win?NC Lottery
Great question, Alvin! Online players have the same odds of being a winner as players that purchase their tickets through retailers or our touch vending machines. While we see winners that purchased through retailers more frequently, that is only because the vast majority of our players purchase through retail instead of Online Play. That said, we've seen lots of big winners through Online Play, including a recent winner of the Cash 5 Jackpot in May of this year: https://bit.ly/Cash5OnlinePlayJackpot. Hope this helps!

10/25/2021 08:19 - William A.

If they are independently reviewed and audited they should be public record. I would like to see that myself (Thousands). I spend a lot of money on scratch offs and noticed the odds have got worse over the past 3-5 years.ThanksNC Lottery
Hi William, we understand your concerns and we're sorry to hear you feel this way. Please check out our Integrity and Transparency section of our website to review any of our reports: https://nclottery.com/corporatesocialresponsibility_integrity. Hope this helps!

10/25/2021 05:25 - elizabeth j.

Congratulations.

10/25/2021 12:53 - Esther C.

Howdy! When is the ticket scanner going to be fixed? I've installed the latest app update, but this floating line is still not working well. It works great, and I barely had to line it up to scan ticket points. But when trying to scan to see if I won, the line just floats up and down regardless of how close or far away I hold the ticket. Annoying. ?? Any plans on bringing the previous scanner back?NC Lottery
Hi Esther! We're sorry to hear that the updated scanner is causing frustration and technical difficulties. Please reach out at 1-866-934-0289 or visit https://nclottery.com/Help if you are unable to scan your tickets. While at the time there is not a specific plan for scanner updates, the engineers read these comments and are continuously working to improve the app experience for our players.

10/24/2021 07:15 - john j.

I think it’s all riggedNC Lottery
Hi John, we're sorry you feel this way! All of our practices are independently reviewed and audited to ensure integrity and fairness for all of our players!

10/24/2021 01:20 - Amy G.

Congratulations!

10/24/2021 11:23 - Virginia A.

Questions regarding lucky for life. What is the cash lump sum? If I choose the 1000 a day for life, do you deposit daily 1000 to my account minus taxes of course? How many years do I actually get 1000 a day for life? What if I live 50 more years??NC Lottery
Hi Virginia, great question! As long as the winner continues to live, their ‘for life’ prize will be paid to them. If a winner chooses the ‘for life’ option and passes away, the prize will continue to be paid to the winner’s estate until the 20-year payment has been reached. If a player wins the top prize in Lucky For Life and opts for the annuity, they will receive one payment each year worth $365,000.

10/24/2021 08:10 - JOANN M.

Question in reference to the answer for Theodora C about the amount of taxes withheld it was stated that it depends on each individual's unique financial situation can you explain what is meant by financial situation?NC Lottery
Hi Joann, there are too many scenarios to list here, which is why we typically suggest that big winners obtain professional tax advice when preparing to receive their lottery prize. One example of a unique financial situation would be if a player who is a resident of another country wins a lottery prize then they would be taxed at a different rate.

10/23/2021 11:41 - shirley b.

Too Many Repeats NCEL

10/23/2021 12:34 - Charles E.

Has anyone from Hamlet ever won a large cash prize?NC Lottery
Hi Charles, great question! We have had some big winners from Hamlet - here are a couple of blog posts about them. One Hamlet resident won $100,000 in 2017 (https://bit.ly/RichmondCo100KWin), another resident won $1 million on Valentine's Day in 2015 (https://bit.ly/ValentinesDayWinner). These are just a couple of the winners from Hamlet. Hope this helps!

10/22/2021 09:24 - Theodora C.

What is the exact percentage of the Federal and State Tax taken out for lottery winnings? I keep seeing some say 24% while others say 25% and for state 5.5% or 5.4%.NC Lottery
Hi Theodora, great question! We are required to withhold 24% federal and 5.25% state taxes on prizes. Depending on each individual's unique financial situation, a person's tax obligation could be more or less than what was withheld.

10/22/2021 07:36 - Michael K.

Can someone from the lottery fix the ticket scanner at Circle K on Christenbury pkwy in Concord please. Its been broken for a year and the new manager is clueless to who to contact. ThanksNC Lottery
Hi Michael, I'm sorry to hear that the vending machine at this retailer is not operational. I hope that didn't cause too much of an inconvenience. The number to call to report a vending machine that needs servicing is 1-877-962-7529 and selecting Option 2, then Option 5. This is the direct line to our customer service team. They will be able to send someone out to provide maintenance on this machine.

10/22/2021 11:14 - Michael K.

Where was last nights Cash 5 won at?NC Lottery
Hi Michael, thanks for your question! Last night's Cash 5 jackpot was won with a ticket purchased at Ingles on Tunnel Road in Asheville, NC. Hope this helps!

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Guilford County man wins $1 million Powerball prize

October 22, 2021 Posted by NC Lottery at 10:32 AM

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