Los Angeles woman buys winning Powerball ticket while visiting North Carolina

A California woman bought a winning Powerball ticket in a part of eastern North Carolina that some might consider remote.

LoisMarie Familar of Los Angeles got lucky in Gatesville – population 310 – while visiting relatives for the holidays, the N.C. Education Lottery said in a Jan. 13 news release.

The town is a 140-mile drive northeast from downtown Raleigh and about 2,685 miles east of Los Angeles, maps show.

Familar bought her $3 Powerball ticket on Dec. 20, at the Gates Food Mart on U.S. 158, officials said.

It matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball to win $50,000, and that prize was tripled to $150,000 because she added a 3X multiplier, officials said. Familar beat odds of 1 in 913,129.18 to win the $50,000.

“We kept looking at it because we thought we were looking at it wrong,” Familar said in the news release. “I don’t know how many times we checked it.”

She picked up her prize Jan. 12 at lottery headquarters and the cash amounted to $108,016 after state and federal taxes.

“Familar plans to use her winnings to pay some bills, give to charity, and help out her family,” lottery officials said.

The Powerball jackpot stood at $156 million Wednesday, Jan. 14, and the odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Los Angeles woman buys winning Powerball ticket while visiting North Carolina."