Lottery player’s big Powerball win gets multiplied by 10. ‘Immediately called my mom’

An eastern North Carolina woman had the best Thanksgiving ever after buying a winning Powerball ticket and wisely adding the multiplier.

That meant Linda Wilkes’ $50,000 prize was instantly multiplied by 10.

The Wilkes County resident ended up with $500,000 when her $3 ticket matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball of the Nov. 4 drawing, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.

Wilkes beat odds of 1 in 913,129 to win the $50,000.

Her first move, she said, was to call her mom.

“I was in disbelief,” Wilkes said in the release. “Everybody always says, ‘What if I won the lottery, that would open a lot of doors.’ And then I did.”

She bought the Quick Pick ticket online Nov. 4 and picked up her money Wednesday, Nov. 27, lottery officials said. The prize came to $357,501 after tax with holdings.

A new house is first on her wish list, she told lottery officials.

As of Nov. 29, the Powerball jackpot was near $215 million and the odds of winning it were 1 in 292,201,338.00, according to Powerball.com.

This story was originally published November 29, 2024 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Lottery player’s big Powerball win gets multiplied by 10. ‘Immediately called my mom’."