Alan Aguilera of Charlotte said he plays Powerball because his father loved to play, and the family tradition paid off with a $150,000 win.
“My dad died about two years ago and I decided to keep playing because that’s what he did,” Aguilera said. “I just thought I would continue the tradition on.”
Aguilera bought his lucky $3 Quick Pick ticket for the June 24 Powerball drawing using Online Play. He matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000. His prize tripled to $150,000 when the 3X multiplier hit.
“I came back from a concert that night and looked at my phone,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh this can’t be real.’”
Aguilera claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $106,876.
“I’m blessed,” he said. “It still doesn’t feel real.”
He plans to use some of his winnings on an upcoming medical procedure and put the rest in savings.
The jackpot in Wednesday’s Powerball drawing climbed to $725 million, or $366.2 million in cash, and now ranks as the seventh largest in game history. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
Powerball is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
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