Newlywed April Royal of Fayetteville spent her Labor Day weekend at the beach and came home Monday with a Powerball ticket worth $1 million.
Royal said she and her husband bought their $2 Powerball ticket for Saturday’s drawing from the Circle K on North Howe Street in Southport while at the beach, and “didn’t think about it” until their drive back home on Monday.
The couple had to pull over to verify the win.
“We’re still in shock!” exclaimed Royal. “And here I am driving in all of Labor Day traffic.”
She claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, Royal took home $712,501. She said they will use their big win to invest, pay off some bills, and celebrate their July marriage with a honeymoon.
Royal’s $1 million prize became one of two won nationally in the drawing. Her ticket matched the numbers on all five white balls to win $1 million. The odds of that win are 1 in 11.6 million.
Her good luck occurred as she and other North Carolinians try to win a Powerball jackpot that keeps growing. Wednesday’s jackpot now stands at $461 million as an annuity, or $223.5 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
Powerball is one of six games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $23 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cumberland County in 2022, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
Login to leave a comment.