North Carolina – For Brenda Gomez Hernandez of Concord, Nov. 9 will be a day she will never forget as, just hours after she went into labor and delivered a baby girl, a Powerball ticket delivered her a $100,000 prize.
“I feel like she brought me my luck,” Hernandez said. “I’m so thankful.”
Hernandez, a 28-year-old housekeeper, matched numbers on four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000 in the Nov. 9 drawing. The prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X Power Play multiplier hit.
“When I found out I cried,” she said. “I’m just so excited and happy.”
Hernandez bought her $3 Quick Pick ticket from the QuikTrip on Warren C Coleman Boulevard in Concord.
“I have two sons and I used their birthdays to pick my numbers,” Hernandez said.
She claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters and, after required tax withholdings, took home $65,015.
Hernandez said a large amount of her winnings would go toward paying for her house.
Saturday’s Powerball drawing offers a $81 million jackpot worth $42.1 million in cash.
Powerball is one of four lottery 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 with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. The other games are Mega Millions, Lucky For Life, and Carolina Cash 5.