James Miller of Iron Station said a spur-of-the-moment decision to buy Powerball tickets became a life-changing moment when he won $100,000 in Saturday’s drawing.
“Six dollars changed my life,” Miller said. “I’ve got two babies at home and they sure are going to have an amazing Christmas now.”
Miller said he was walking out of the convenience store, Jerry’s One Stop on N.C. 27 in Iron Station, when he made a sudden decision to go back inside and buy two, $3 Quick Pick Power Play tickets.
“Something just hit me and told me to buy some Powerball tickets so I walked back in,” Miller said. “I don’t think it’s really hit me yet that I won.”
Miller matched numbers on four white balls plus the Powerball to win $50,000. His prized doubled to $100,000 when the 2X Power Play multiplier was drawn.
A 39-year-old construction worker, Miller said this win is especially meaningful because, just a few days before he bought the winning ticket, he found out that his mother had won her battle against cancer. He said his mother was the first person he told after he won.
“She was half asleep, but she jumped out of the bed when I told her,” Miller said.
Besides buying Christmas presents for his family, Miller said he might use his winnings for a down payment on a house.
Miller arrived at lottery headquarters on Monday to collect his prize. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $70,751.
The Powerball jackpot has been rolling since the last winning jackpot on Oct. 4. The current Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is an estimated $333 million, or $241.5 million in cash. The odds of winning a jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
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