KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- A Kannapolis couple has won a Powerball prize of $150,000 and plan to use the money to pay off their mortgage.
Richard and Star Kelly bought the winning ticket at drawing at the Quik Trip on Dale Earnhardt Boulevard in Kannapolis.
“It felt like we’d never pay off the house,” said Richard, a retired casket delivery driver. “This is life-changing.”
“We’ve been using the same numbers for the last three weeks,” said Star. “There’s nothing special about them. Something just told me to play those numbers.”
They beat odds of one in 913,129 to win the prize.
“I thought we’d only won $300 until the clerk told us we needed to go to Charlotte,” Richard said. “When the people at the Charlotte office told us how much we won, and that we needed to go to Raleigh, I about fell over.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” Star said. “I felt like I was having a heart attack. I was so excited!”
The couple claimed the prize Friday at the lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, they took home $105,752.
The next Powerball drawing is Saturday night. The jackpot has reached $455 million, worth $269.4 million cash. It’s the 8th largest jackpot in the game’s history.
