Soap opera enjoyer enters the New Year with a million-dollar win

By Kate Northrop

ALBEMARLE, N.C. — A North Carolina woman entered the New Year with a $1 million Powerball prize, having bought her ticket on New Year's Eve for the New Year's Day drawing.

Grace Landon of Albemarle started off the New Year with a million-dollar Powerball prize, effectively crossing off "winning the lottery" from her bucket list for 2025.

Landon has been a regular Powerball player for 20 years, and it was on New Year's Day that her lucky $2 Quick Pick paid off.

On New Year's Eve, Landon purchased the ticket at Friendly Mart on NC 24/27 West Bypass in Albemarle. That ticket went on to match all five white ball numbers in the New Year's Day Powerball drawing to win $1 million.

The ticket matched the numbers 6, 12, 28, 35, and 66, but missed the red Powerball number 26 to win the $181.1 million jackpot.

Landon told the North Carolina Lottery that her husband of 30 years, Hank, was not convinced when she came to him with the news.

"He didn't believe me at first," Landon recalled.

The couple double-checked the draw results online, and upon seeing confirmation of the win, they paused her daily soap opera, "The Young and the Restless," on TV and quickly got in the car.

A few hours later, the pair arrived at Lottery headquarters in Raleigh so Landon could claim her prize. After federal and state taxes, she took home a nice sum of $717,501.

First things first, she told Lottery officials that she'll use the winnings to add a plant or two to her collection, having retired from working at a plant nursery. The prize money will also go towards buying a new house and paying off expenses, including her grandson's car.

The odds of matching all five white ball numbers in Powerball to win the game's second-tier prize of $1 million are 1 in 11,688,054.

The next Powerball annuity jackpot estimate for the drawing on Wednesday, Jan. 8 currently stands at $240 million.

Powerball is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.

Powerball lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com). The USA Mega website provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States' two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Grace Landon of Albemarle, pictured with her husband Hank, started off the New Year with a million-dollar Powerball prize, effectively crossing off "winning the lottery" from her bucket list for 2025.