RALEIGH – Donald Smiley of Cherokee got so excited that he couldn’t fall asleep after he won a $150,000 Powerball prize.
“I was so excited I didn’t even know what to do,” Smiley laughed. “I definitely couldn’t sleep.”
Smiley, a retired Army veteran, bought his lucky $3 Quick Pick ticket from Catamount Travel Center on U.S. 441 North in Whittier. He matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball in the Oct. 9 drawing to win $50,000. Because he bought a Power Play ticket, his prize tripled to $150,000 when the 3X multiplier hit.
“I was like, ‘Am I reading this right,’” Smiley recalled. “I’m still so excited.”
He arrived at lottery headquarters on Monday to claim his winnings and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $107,251.
Smiley said he plans to use his winnings to pay some bills.
Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $478 million annuity or $230.5 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.
Swain County just received a $52 million grant, from money raised by the lottery, to help build a new middle school. For details on other ways money raised by the lottery made a difference in Swain County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.