Lottery News

Well, how many of us are scared of what if your numbers would be picked in a drawing you did not enter, well all of us!. And this is exactly what happened with one North Carolina woman, who could not have had better timing after missing a Powerball drawing and winning a $2 million prize in the next one.

Elizabeth Johnson of Lucama could not buy her Powerball ticket in time for the drawing on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, but that error turned out rather be her fate worth winning $2 million on Saturday, May 22, 2021.

Johnson, who is an entrepreneur, had quite a busy day last Wednesday and rushed to buy an Online Play ticket for that night's Powerball drawing. However, she missed the 9:57 pm cut-off for the sale of lottery tickets, by one minute. But lucky her, the Quick Pick she bought was valid for the next drawing on Saturday.

But since she thought she bought her ticket completely in time for Wednesday's drawing, she was stunned to find out that she had won $2 million in a drawing she never believed she entered. Johnson exclaimed, "it was definitely a shock, when I got the message saying that I had won, I thought, 'Well, I didn't even play tonight.'"

Johnson was lucky enough to match all five white balls to win a second-tier prize of $1 million. Also, she had upgraded her ticket to a $3 Power Play ticket, doubling her prize when the 2X multiplier was drawn.

The Powerball winning numbers for the drawing held on Saturday, May 22, 2021, were 3, 19, 27, 37, 40, and Powerball 8. The odds of watching all the five white balls for Powerball are about 1 in 11.69 million, she was totally lucky!

The winner visited North Carolina Lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim her prize on Thursday. After all the federal and state tax deductions, she took home a total of around $1,415,001. With her newfound wealth, she plans on buying a house and taking her family to a fun destination.

Currently, the Powerball jackpot has rolled to $268 million as an annuity for tonight's drawing. And the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292 million. It's high time to grab your pencils and start choosing your winning lottery numbers.