Charlotte couple wins $200,000 Powerball lottery prize
Posted: 1/10/2007 3:00:01 PM
Tonight's Powerball jackpot is worth $131 million
John Mark Isaacs and his girlfriend had been eyeing new cars for some time.
She would like a yellow, two-door Pontiac Solaris. Isaacs wants a Mini Cooper in black or blue.
"It was like a dream, 'I sure would like to have that,' " he said of the cars. "Now, I can."
On Saturday, Isaacs, 41, and his girlfriend won $200,000 when one of the dozen Powerball tickets the couple bought had five winning numbers.
Isaacs, a warehouse manager for a supply company, has lived in Charlotte since 1979.
He and his girlfriend, whose name he didn't want to publicize, play the lottery about once a week. They recently won $7 on a Powerball ticket, cashing it in for more tickets.
The couple had been out looking for houses Saturday when they decided to stop for more tickets. They made three stops on Sharon Amity, eventually buying 12 $1 tickets at an Xpress Mart.
Isaacs' girlfriend went to bed before checking the numbers. She awoke early Sunday morning to check the lottery Web site. She noticed that four numbers matched the white balls drawn the night before. Waking Isaacs, they then checked to see how much money they won.
That's when they noticed they actually had five winning numbers. "We were just ecstatic," Isaacs said.
The couple called family and close friends to tell them the news, then went back to the Xpress Mart to verify the numbers. The clerk told them they would have to go to the lottery center in Raleigh to claim their prize.
Isaacs took Monday off from work so he and his girlfriend could go to Raleigh. "My stomach was in a knot," Isaacs said. "We didn't want to stop and eat."
Later that night, they stopped by Bob Evans for dinner. Just a regular meal, he said. The big splurge will be the cars.
The ticket won them $136,000 after taxes, which they'll also use to pay off credit card bills, take a short vacation, then put the rest away for retirement.
Isaacs said they'll keep playing the lottery. On Tuesday, he bought three $1 tickets.
Does he hope for another win? "Yeah, definitely," he said. "It worked out the last time."
Source: Charlotte Observer
