The biggest Powerball jackpot in the country in over two months has many Kinston residents with dollars in their eyes.
According to the N.C. Education Lottery website, today’s jackpot is an estimated $300 million to be paid out over 20 years; the winner could cash out to the tune of $172.7 million, though.
The Powerball lottery— played in 43 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands — hasn’t had a jackpot this large since May 18 — when the winning numbers were worth a record $590.5 million — and is the fourth-highest in the state this year.
“We all could use the money,” Kinston resident Cleveland Lovick said. “I would use it to pay bills, enjoy me and enjoy life positively.”
Since last Thursday, North Carolinians have won a combined $17.6 million, including $12.7 million in scratch-off tickets. Charlotte resident Rickey Earnhardt won $1 million in Powerball.
Tobacco Road Outlet employee Portia McCoy said many people want to win the lottery and head into early retirement.
“They’re hoping they win so they can stop working,” McCoy said.
Kayla Ned and Yolanda Davis both work at the Kangaroo convenience store on Herritage Street and have dealt with a very high volume of Powerball customers.
“The traffic has been pretty heavy the entire day,” Ned said. “We usually don’t have two people working the counters at the same time, but we needed to today.”
“I couldn’t even tell you how many tickets we’ve sold today,” Davis added. “We’ve seen that many people playing the lottery.”
The additional money being spent on Powerball tickets — along with scratch-offs and draw games — in anticipation for big money has been a great source of revenue for Kinston, as well as North Carolina.
A press release from the N.C. Education Lottery stated, “To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.9 billion for the state and education initiatives it serves.
The statement continued, stating, “Net proceeds are used for pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk 4-year-olds, teachers’ salaries in grades K-3 with a goal of keeping class size low, school construction and need-based college scholarships and financial aid. For prizes of $5,000 and greater, 25 percent federal tax and 7 percent tax are automatically withheld.”
For now, Kinston resident Jerry Grant is hoping he has the $300 million winning ticket.
“One time, I won $600 in the Mega Millions lottery,” Grant said. “I’ll be even more excited if I won the Powerball though.”
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.
Here are the odds of winning in the Powerball lottery
5 numbers plus Powerball: 1:175,223,510
5 numbers: 1:5,153,633
4 numbers plus Powerball: 1:648,976
4 numbers: 1:19,088
3 numbers plus Powerball: 1:12,245
3 numbers: 1:360
2 numbers plus Powerball: 1:706
1 number plus Powerball: 1:110
Powerball 1:55
Source: nc-educationlottery.org