WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A Winston-Salem woman turns $3 into $100,000 after winning the Powerball prize.
Whitney Pakalka took a chance on a $3 Powerball ticket and won a $100,000 prize.
She bought her lucky Power Play ticket using Online Play on the lottery's website. It matched the numbers on four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000 in the August 15 drawing.
The prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X Power Play multiplier hit.
Pakalka claimed her prize Friday at lottery headquarters and took home $71,011 after taxes.
Monday's drawing offers a $193 million jackpot, or $105 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
Powerball is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery's website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
The other games are Mega Millions, Lucky for Life, and Carolina Cash 5.
Ticket sales from draw games like Powerball make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education.