Crystal Jones of Mooresville likes playing Powerball for the chance to win big, and that’s exactly what happened when a $2 ticket won her a $1 million prize.
“I don’t mind paying a couple of dollars for a dream,” she said.
Jones bought her lucky Quick Pick ticket from Fast Phil’s on Charlotte Highway in Mooresville. She matched the numbers on all five white balls to win $1 million in the Feb. 9 drawing. The odds of that win are 1 in 11.6 million.
“I saw the numbers on the TV and I was in disbelief,” Jones recalled. “I got out of bed and just started calling everybody.”
She arrived at lottery headquarters Tuesday to claim her winnings and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $720,101.
“It just feels realer and realer now,” Jones said when she received her big check.
She plans to use her winnings to pay some bills.
Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $218 million annuity or $101.6 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.
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