LoisMarie Familar of Los Angeles, Calif., came back to North Carolina to see family over the holidays and left the state with a $150,000 Powerball win.
“It was really good visiting my hometown,” she said.
Familar grew up in Gatesville and she bought her lucky $3 Quick Pick ticket for the Dec. 20 drawing from Gates Food Mart on U.S. 158 in Gatesville. 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 tripled to $150,000 when the 3X multiplier hit.
“We kept looking at it because we thought we were looking at it wrong,” Familar laughed. “I don’t know how many times we checked it."
She arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to claim her winnings and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $108,016.
Familar plans to use her winnings to pay some bills, give to charity, and help out her family.
Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $156 million annuity or $70.5 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.
Gates County received grants totaling over $17 million from monies raised by the lottery to help with school renovations. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.
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