When Megan Sikora-Stypolkowski of Raleigh saw an article about a $150,000 Powerball winner from Raleigh, she logged on to her account and found out that she was the winner.
“I originally googled ‘NC Lottery’ because I was going to log in to my account to check the numbers from the drawing,” Sikora-Stypolkowski recalled.
That search brought up a Google article from the Raleigh News & Observer about an unclaimed $150,000 Powerball winning ticket from Raleigh.
“I was with my coworker at the time and I said, ‘Wouldn’t that be funny if it was me,’” Sikora-Stypolkowski laughed.
She got her lucky $3 Quick Pick ticket using Online Play. She matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball in the April 21 drawing to win $50,000. Because she bought a Power Play ticket, her prize tripled to $150,000 when the 3X multiplier hit.
“We have never won anything like this before,” she said.
Sikora-Stypolkowski arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to claim her winnings and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $107,626. She plans to use some of her winnings to take a family vacation.
Monday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $54 million annuity or $24.8 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.
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