Alabama man went to NC for a job. He returned home with life-changing Powerball prize
The mystery lottery player who missed the $55 million Powerball jackpot by one number has come forward in North Carolina, and it turns out to be an Alabama man who was in the state for a job, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.
Christopher Baker of Leesburg, Alabama, picked up his $100,000 consolation prize Wednesday, July 17, officials said in a news release.
Odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million, so Baker appeared to be happy with what he got.
“It was definitely a shocker,” Baker said in the release. “I just kept looking at it to make sure I was reading it right. I told my family but they didn’t believe me either.”
He matched numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball in the July 13 drawing to win $50,000 and it doubled due to being a Power Play multiplier ticket, officials said. (The winning numbers were 9, 55, 59, 66, 69 and Powerball 21.)
The cash came to $71,501 after required state and federal tax withholdings, officials said.
Baker plans to use it to help buy a house.
His $3 Quick Pick ticket was purchased at the Jack B Quick store in Hickory, which is about a 350-mile drive northeast from his home in Leesburg.
No players got all five numbers and the Powerball, so a $2 million ticket bought in Illinois won the largest prize for the July 13 drawing, McClatchy News reported.
The Powerball jackpot was at $91 million as of July 18, with a cash value of $43.7 million, for the July 20 drawing, according to Powerball.com.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT POWERBALL
To score the jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published July 18, 2024 at 7:59 AM with the headline "Alabama man went to NC for a job. He returned home with life-changing Powerball prize."