Deborah Gates of Franklin had an emotional reaction to winning a $100,000 Powerball prize in Saturday’s drawing.
“I went out on the porch and cried,” she said. “Then I started flipping out.”
Gates said she could not wrap her head around what happened.
“I looked and I looked but the brain was trying to deny what I was looking at,” she recalled.
Gates bought her lucky $3 ticket from MAPCO on Sulphur Springs Road in Waynesville. She matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000. Because she bought a Power Play ticket, her prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X multiplier hit.
“This is huge for me and it comes at the perfect time,” Gates said. “Now I can start looking for a house.”
She arrived at lottery headquarters to claim her winnings and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $71,751.
“I couldn’t be more grateful,” Gates said. “This is such a gift.”
Saturday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $244 million annuity or $114.2 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
Powerball is one of six draw 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 the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
The N.C. Education Lottery’s Play Smart™ program helps North Carolinians make the most of their lottery play. Visit ncplaysmart.com to learn about all things lottery, from tips on how odds work to how to enter bonus drawings.
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