Lottery player in North Carolina plans to study after $100K Powerball prize

• An Alamance County, North Carolina, lottery player missed the jackpot from Powerball but won a sweet $100,000 prize on a $3 ticket
• The winner was reminded by a friend about the Powerball drawing
• Using the sweet windfall, the lucky player plans to go back to school for data analytics

A lucky lottery player, who missed the Powerball jackpot, is still excited after his $3 ticket brought him a sweet six-figure prize.

Earlier in the week, the North Carolina Education Lottery confirmed that one Alamance County man scored $100,000 from a recent Powerball drawing.

Player misses jackpot but wins $100,000

The fortunate player, a man from Burlington, purchased his Quick Pick ticket online.

Surprisingly, entering the Powerball drawing on December 8, 2025, he matched four white balls.

Usually, he would've won $50,000, but since he purchased a Power Play ticket, the lucky man's prize was doubled to $100,000 thanks to the 2X multiplier.

The multi-state draw game, Powerball, is one of a total of six such games available to players in North Carolina.

Besides at retail outlets, players can purchase their tickets via the North Carolina Education Lottery's official website or its mobile app.

At the time of writing, the jackpot from Powerball is an estimated $1.5bn or $686.5m cash option.

A friend of the winner reminded him about the Powerball drawing

Speaking to an official from the Lottery, the lucky winner admitted that a friend of his reminded him of the upcoming Powerball drawing, which is why he bought tickets.

Recalling the moment he realized he had won $100,000, the lucky winner said he jumped up and started yelling.

"I was super excited," the Burlington player explained.

The fortunate Alamance County man visited the Lottery headquarters on Wednesday to claim his big win.

Considering that state and federal taxes apply to lottery winnings, the lucky man's bank account increased by nearly $72,000.

When asked about his plans for the newfound fortune, the man said he would use some of the winnings to go back to school.

"I'm going to use this to go back to school for data analytics," he revealed.

However, the lucky man also plans to treat his friend to a holiday to his relatives in Florida and also visit Universal Studios in Orlando.

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