Update – Charles W. Jackson Jr. from North Carolina is the big winner
Only a few days after the big draw on June 1st, the $350 million Powerball jackpot was claimed by Charles W. Jackson Jr. from Raleigh, 66. He is now North Carolina royalty as he is the state’s biggest lottery winner.
If you’re wondering how he managed to do that, it all started with a fortune cookie that his stepdaughter, who was 6 years old at the time, got in a restaurant two years ago. The fortune had 5 numbers on it and Mr. Jackson has been playing them in the Powerball and the Mega Millions ever since.
In fact, it was because he always played the same numbers that Mr. Jackson didn’t even realize how much he had won. When he checked the Powerball results, he recognized his numbers and called his wife to tell her that they had won something around $50.000.
But then, he read all the numbers and he saw that he had all the numbers for the big jackpot. When he told his wife about that, he still didn’t know just how big the Powerball jackpot had gotten. She told him to Google it, and that’s how they found out that Mr. Jackson won $350 million.
He chose the lump sum payment for the prize, which was worth $223 million. After paying the due taxes, he was left with $158 million. Now, after claiming his big Powerball jackpot, Mr. Jackson is planning a family trip to Vietnam, where his wife is from.
He also wants to donate to three charitable organizations – the Wounded Warrior Project, Shriners Hospital for Children and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Beyond that, Mr. Jackson doesn’t want to make any big changes. “I’m still going to wear jeans. Maybe newer ones.“, he said.
On Saturday, June 1st, 2019, a lottery player from North Carolina beat the odds and scooped a huge Powerball jackpot worth $350 million. There was only one ticket with all the winning numbers of the draw – 06-15-34-45-52/08.
This was also the only ticket with all the 5 main numbers. Over 925.000 people won secondary prizes in the Powerball on June 1st, but none of them had the winning combination for the $1 million second prize. The Power Play number was 02, so those lottery players who remembered to add the multiplier to their tickets will be getting double the prizes they won.
As for the jackpot winner, he or she is now expected to come forward and claim the $350 million. To visualize just how large such a prize is, if it were paid out in $100 bills, it would make up a stack the size of the Eiffel Tower, according to the Powerball website. Can you imagine winning that much money?
Well, the new winner will have to wrap his or her head around that. The chairman of the North Carolina Lottery is thrilled that the jackpot was won in their state and is advising the winner to sign the ticket to certify ownership and to keep it safe.
Aside from that, the new winner should also gather a team of financial and legal advisers to help him set up a plan for collecting the jackpot. The two options are taking the annuity option or the lump payout in cash.
Annuity would get the winner the full $350 million, but it would be paid in 30 yearly installments over 29 years. The other option is collecting a smaller amount in a single installment. For this jackpot, the cash payment is $223 million. These amounts are all before taxes.
Another issue that the new winner must get used to is becoming a public figure. In the state of North Carolina, lottery winners are not allowed to remain anonymous, so he or she will have to come forward.
Until then, the Powerball has a new jackpot coming up. The prize was set back to the starting amount, which is $40 million. If you’re wondering how tall that stack of $100 bills would be, the Powerball official website says that it would reach the size of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. That’s certainly worth putting in a Powerball ticket for, so don’t miss out! There are no dull draws in the world’s biggest lottery!