Wife starts year with $1 million Powerball prize, but husband wasn’t convinced
A wife kicked off the new year with a $1 million Powerball win, but her husband wasn’t convinced.
“He didn’t believe me at first,” Grace Landon told the North Carolina Education Lottery in a Jan. 6 news release.
That’s when the couple checked her ticket again, ensuring the prize was the real deal. Landon, who had been watching soap operas, paused “The Young and the Restless” and jumped into the car.
Landon and her husband drove to the lottery’s headquarters in Raleigh to cash in on the big prize, which totaled $717,501 after taxes.
Landon “welcomed” the interruption to her TV routine after she continued her longtime tradition of playing the Powerball game. She spent $2 on her lucky ticket at the Friendly Mart convenience store in Albemarle, a roughly 40-mile drive east from Charlotte, according to lottery officials.
It turns out, Landon’s ticket matched all but one number picked in the Jan. 1 drawing. Her ticket was one number from hitting the jackpot, which stood at an estimated $181 million the night of the drawing, McClatchy News reported.
Landon, a grandmother and retired nursery worker, has considered buying more plants after her big win. She also hopes to get a new house and pay off her grandson’s car.
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 January 6, 2025 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Wife starts year with $1 million Powerball prize, but husband wasn’t convinced."
