The $344.6 Million Powerball Jackpot Has a Winner in North Carolina

The $344.6 Million Powerball Jackpot Has a Winner in North Carolina
People buy lottery tickets at the Primm Valley Casino Resorts Lotto Store just inside the California border, near Primm, Nev., on Jan. 12, 2016. The Powerball jackpot has grown to over $1 billion dollars for the next drawing on Wednesday. (AP Photo/John Locher)
6/2/2019
Updated:
6/2/2019
The winning ticket for the $344.6 million Powerball jackpot on Saturday night was sold in North Carolina, according to the Powerball website.

The winning numbers were white balls 6, 15, 34, 45, 52, plus Powerball 8, and Power Play multiplier 2X.

The winner may choose between 30 graduated payments over 29 years that total $344.6 million or a lump sum payment of $223.3. million. These amounts are before taxes.

A stack of $100 bills totaling $344.6 million would be taller than the 1,063-foot Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Powerball website says.

The ticket holder has 180 days to claim the prize. North Carolina does not allow winners to remain anonymous.

“This is a life-changing event and we’re excited that someone in North Carolina won this jackpot,” Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery, said in a statement.

“Our advice to the winner is to sign that ticket to establish your ownership of it and then secure it in a safe place. Then, take your time and put together a plan with the help of financial and legal advisers for how you would like to claim your prize.”

This is the fifth time a Powerball jackpot winner has come from North Carolina, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.

Last month, a North Carolina mother won $1.3 million from a $1 Carolina Cash 5 lottery ticket.

Another person from North Carolina and their spouse are about to embark on a trip of a lifetime thanks to winning big on a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Richard Beare of Charlotte took home the top prize of $250,000 from a $5 scratch-off game called Carolina Black.

“I recently got diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer,” said Beare in a statement from the NC Education Lottery. “I want to travel while I can still enjoy myself. My wife has always wanted to go to Italy, since that’s where her descendants are from. Now I can take her.”

Beare stopped at a convenience store two weeks ago to purchase a Powerball ticket his wife wanted. While inside the store, he also decided to test his luck on some scratch-off tickets.

“I rarely play the lottery,” said Beare. “I only stopped because my wife asked me to get a Powerball ticket since the jackpot was so high.”

Beare, a retired automotive mechanic, stood inside the store and scratched off the four tickets he bought. He couldn’t believe what he saw as he scratched off the last ticket, so he asked the clerk to double check it.

“When I saw that I had matching numbers, I asked her, ‘What does it mean if I match the numbers?’ She said it meant I won a prize,” said Beare.

A coin is used to scratch off the metal covering on a lottery ticket. (Shutterstock)
A coin is used to scratch off the metal covering on a lottery ticket. (Shutterstock)

“I told her, ‘Well, I guess we just won $250,000 then.’ She was in shock and just kept looking back and forth to me and the ticket.”

Beare claimed his prize on Monday at the North Carolina lottery headquarters in Raleigh and took home $176,876 after taxes.

The Carolina Black lottery ticket launched early March and has four top prizes of $250,000. Two top prizes remain, according to lotto officials.

In a similar story last year, an 87-year-old man from New Jersey, who broke his hip while on his way to the store to buy a lottery ticket, ended up winning a share of a $1 million prize after hospital staff took pity on him.

While in the hospital, Earl Livingston shared his story with staff at Jefferson Stratford Hospital, who asked him whether he wanted to be included in the hospital’s lottery pool.

“He told them he was on his way to buy a lottery ticket and he was disappointed that he didn’t get it,” Livingston’s niece, Bobbie Mickle, told NBC10. “So they said, ‘Why don’t you go in with us? We’re also buying a lottery ticket.’”

Livingston then contributed an amount with 141 hospital staff in the pool. They ended up winning $1 million, with each participant taking home about $4,500 after taxes.

“I want to thank everybody,” Livingston told NBC10. “I appreciate very much and God bless you and have a happy, happy long life!”

Joe Devine, president of Jefferson Health New Jersey, praised his staff for going beyond their duties to help the elderly patient.

“This is a story of good fortune, but also of great people,” he told Today. “When this gentleman expressed his disappointment around not having the chance to get a lottery ticket, our staff stepped in to brighten up his day. The team here goes above and beyond for their patients every day. This time, it happened to net an excellent reward for all!”
Epoch Times reporter Jocelyn Neo contributed to this article.
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