The Powerball website has announced that a person from North Carolina is the winner of $344.6 million Powerball jackpot. It said that the winning ticket was sold on Saturday night in North Carolina. Mark Michalko, North Carolina Education Lottery executive director, has claimed that it is for the 5th time that a Powerball jackpot winner belongs to North Carolina.
The winning ticket had the winning numbers in the form of 5 white balls 5, 15, 34, 45, 52 and a red ball (Powerball) with number 8. Also, it carried the Power Play multiplier 2X with it. According to the Powerball Site, a person from a Carlie C’s IGA grocery store in Hope Mills, south to Fayetteville, had bought the ticket. Due to this, the store has eligibility for $50,000 prize money.
A total of 180 days is given to the winning ticket holder to claim the prize. And he is given the choices to choose from 30 graduated payments over the time span of 29 years or $223.3 million lump sum payment. Both these options have been declared without any tax deduction. The Powerball website says that the length of $100 bills for a total of $344.6 million will be longer than the length of Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Mark Michalko, executive director of N.C. Education Lottery, has said that it is a moment of celebration for North Carolina that someone has won the Powerball jackpot. He advised the winner to claim the winning amount and keep it safely with him. Also, he said that the help of financial as well as legal advisors should be taken while claiming the prize money.
In North Carolina, the lottery winners cannot hide their names as they have to reveal the true identity to claim the winning amount. It is the second consecutive month when a North Carolina person has won the lottery jackpot. In the previous month, a North Carolina mother had won $1.3 million from a $1 Carolina Cash 5 lottery ticket and this news did rounds of the internet.
