When the player is away, the ticket's there to stay
By Kate Northrop
WARRENTON, N.C. — A North Carolina man was welcomed home from his trip to New York by a $1 million Powerball lottery prize.
One North Carolina lottery player could not ask for a better "welcome home" present than to be greeted by a $1 million Powerball prize waiting patiently for him.
George Boston of Warrenton was away from home when the July 25 Powerball drawing took place, but he had purchased a ticket at Tobacco Plus on East Macon Street in Warrenton leading up to it.
He was out-of-state on a trip to New York and did not have the ticket on him to check the results, rather it was sitting at home waiting for his return.
"When I came back, I heard that there was a winner in Warrenton," Boston told the North Carolina Lottery. "I looked at my ticket on the table and went, 'Oh wow, I got a match.'"
That was putting it lightly. His $2 ticket matched all five white ball numbers 3, 4, 24, 36, and 47 to win the game's second-tier prize of $1 million, beating the odds of 1 in 11.68 million. Had he matched the red Powerball number 17 as well, he would have won the jackpot, which was $612.7 million at the time.
Boston dialed his wife and children, but his calls went unanswered. His daughter was the first to call him back. He picked up exclaiming, "I'm a winner! I'm a winner!"
The lucky winner visited Lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Aug. 14 to claim his prize, which awarded him a total of $720,101 after federal and state taxes.
The next Powerball annuity jackpot estimate for the drawing on Saturday, Aug. 21 currently stands at $68 million.
Powerball is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., 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.
Wow 1 in 11.68 million? And he got it with a random solitary QP. Usually people buy multiple QPs on the same ticket, some with enhancements. This lucky man just bought one and won. Congratulations.
It's a reminder that all it takes is one ticket. If it is meant for you it shall be.
There are 26 red balls. This guy just missed the red ball. I wonder if there are hard-core powerball players who play all 26 red balls. If this guy had dropped an extra $50 and played the same QP white ball numbers on separate tickets but with a different red ball on each, not only would he have won the $612.7 million jackpot, he would also get an additional 25 million for the second tier. A crazy $52 gamble.
If it were me, I'd keep the jackpot winning ticket but gift a million dollar ticket to 25 people. Actually. I'd gift 20 people/institutions/organisations directly and with the 5 remaining tickets, I'd strategically let fly out the window, discard on the ground at certain locations and let the universe do it's thing.
My favorite winner stories are the ones where someone bought a single QP.
* Hmm? So you thumbing down Eddie Murphy's late brother? That says a lot!