The North Carolina woman Powerball winner is reportedly a single mother of four. She came forward Monday as one of three winners in a huge Powerball jackpot drawn early February. The North Carolina woman Powerball winner presented one of three winning tickets for the $564 million Powerball jackpot sold at a convenience store in Shallotte, a coastal town just north of the South Carolina border, according to Fox News.
According to ABC 7, the N.C. Education Lottery held a news conference Monday to reveal the North Carolina woman Powerball winner's identity, who is one of lucky winners of the three winning tickets sold on the Feb. 11 drawing. The North Carolina woman Powerball winner will reportedly get $188 million over the next 29 years if an annuity payment is chosen or $127 million if she chooses a lump sum payment.
The North Carolina woman Powerball winner has been identified as Marie Holmes, and for her, the best thing about winning is that she will now be able to provide for her children, who are all under the age of 7. She has three daughters and a son who has cerebral palsy.
The 26-year-old North Carolina woman Powerball winner said she gave her mom $15 to buy five Quick Pick tickets at a Scotchman convenience store on her way to church.
The mother of four lives in a single-wide trailer in Shallotte, North Carolina with her family. The town has a population of about 4,000 people. The North Carolina woman Powerball winner used to work at Wal-Mart, McDonald's and other places before quitting to take care of her children at home.
The North Carolina woman Powerball winner said at the news conference that she initially didn't watch the Feb. 11 numbers drawing on television. She added that she didn't learn of her win until she held the winning ticket the following morning.
The winning numbers on the Feb. 11 draw were 11, 13, 25, 39, 54 and the Powerball number was 19. The North Carolina woman Powerball winner is indeed lucky as the odds of hitting the jackpot were 1 in 175 million.
"I started screaming and jumping around," she said. "I said to my kids, 'You just don't understand what this means.'"
Weeks later, life had become different for the North Carolina woman Powerball winner. She now has security staff everywhere. On Monday at the news conference, she was also seen flanked by a lawyer and a financial adviser.
According to the North Carolina woman Powerball winner, she will be taking the lump-sum payment option of $127 million, totaling about $88 million after taxes. She will also be tithing a percentage of the money to her church and charities.
The North Carolina woman Powerball winner said she still has no immediate plans for what to do with her life after the multi-million win, but she mentioned going back to finish her college degree first. She also said that she wants to travel, perhaps to Paris as she's never been outside the U.S.
"I am humbled and grateful for the opportunities this has created for my family," said the North Carolina woman Powerball winner.
The current win of the North Carolina woman Powerball winner is the fourth time that a North Carolina ticket has claimed a Powerball jackpot. She is also now the largest lottery winner in state history, covering that of the $141 million win in 2010 of a retired firefighter from Asheville.
The other winner of the three has decided to remain anonymous. One is in Puerto Rico, while the other in Texas hasn't come forward yet, according to the Associated Press.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
