Melissa Garten of Newton Grove asked her daughter to buy her a Powerball ticket and got rewarded with a $100,000 win.
“I kept checking it again and again,” she laughed.
Garten, a retired emergency room nurse for over 30 years, won her big prize in the Oct. 3 Powerball drawing.
“I fell to my knees,” Garten said recalling her reaction to the big win. “I could feel my heart beating so fast.”
Garten’s lucky $3 ticket came from 55 Fast Stop on Mt Olive Drive in Newton Grove. 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 came up.
“I usually choose my own numbers but I did a Quick Pick this time,” Garten said.
She arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to claim her winnings and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $72,011.
Garten plans to use her winnings to pay bills and possibly take a trip.
Saturday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $20 million annuity or $8.6 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.
Sampson County received over $62 million in lottery grants to help with school construction. 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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