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Forsyth County mom to pay for her kids’ college with $150,000 Powerball win

September 11, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 3:42 PM
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Denal Gellie of Lewisville was excited for her college-aged kids when she realized she had won $150,000 playing Powerball on Monday.

“I’m so shocked, it hasn’t hit me yet,” said Gellie.

She plans to use her winnings to help pay for her kids’ college tuition and pay bills.

Gellie bought her $3 Power Play ticket using Online Play and matched four white balls and the Powerball. The odds of that happening are 1 in 913,129.

When she received the email saying she had won, Gellie sent the screenshot to her husband who, at first, didn’t quite get the memo.

“I was like, ‘Who’s a winner? Why are you sending me this?’ before I realized,” laughed her husband.

Gellie arrived at the lottery headquarters on Friday to claim her prize. After state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $108,016.

Saturday’s Powerball jackpot sits at $232 million.

Forsyth County received state funding totaling over $21.3 million last year for educational programs. For details on other ways money raised by the lottery made a difference in Forsyth County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.


9 COMMENTS

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9/23/2026 09:20 - LEE J.

You change the rules to suit you and not the people playing the game. NCEL took an L and then change the rules to not pay out the winnings. Week 1 match 7 you got $500-week and week 2 match 7 you get $20,000.So why play the game if you can't win the amount you are supposed to win.NC Lottery
Hi, Lee! The rules haven't changed - the liability limit was just reached for the first drawing and those prizes were paid as pari-mutuel. There were more winning tickets than statistically expected across multiple prize tiers for the first Powerball Xs & Os drawing. Combined with sales from the game's first drawing, this resulted in lower-tier prizes being paid on a pari-mutuel basis. Lower-tier prizes are only paid on a pari-mutuel basis when the prize liability limits are reached; otherwise, prizes are paid in full as listed in the prize/odds section of the website.

9/16/2026 07:36 - Darlene E.

When will the cash 5 payouts INCREASE!!!!!!!!

9/15/2026 09:12 - Darlene E.

On the X/O win for 5 teams was 40, See it only paid 34.00 WHY!!!!?????? NC Lottery
For some games, lower-tier prizes can be paid on a pari-mutuel basis when the prize liability limits are reached. When this happens, the prize pool for a prize tier is divided between the winners for that tier. There were lots of winners for the Powerball Xs and Os at the Match 7, Match 6, and Match 5 prize tiers. The liability limits were reached and so the pool for those specific prize levels was divided between winners in those tiers.

9/14/2026 11:44 - carolyn b.

WHY DOES THE X AND O NEW DRAW GAME STILL SAYING PENDING ??????? NC Lottery
Sorry for the delay! Our team is working to get our website updated with the drawing’s prize results ASAP. We appreciate your patience.

9/13/2026 11:35 - Kimberly D.

7161 August 24th, 572 September 1st and tonight both numbers repeated just the way they came before. Come on NCEL do something different lol. Y’all want it to be fun for players, we the players knows it’s a gamble, but who would look forward to consistent repeats, NOBODY!

9/13/2026 09:20 - komal v.

Congratulations!!

9/12/2026 07:38 - Amy G.

Congratulations on your win Denal!! So happy for you and your family!!

9/12/2026 09:11 - shirley b.

NCEL where are the trips for NC?¿???????????????????????,???,????????????????????????¿?¿?¿???????????????????????????¿¿?

9/12/2026 07:20 - Nancy B.

Congratulations

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11 13 16 47 60 13
POWER PLAY 2x Double Play
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DoublePlay
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4 2 2 4
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9 4 9 6
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