Winners
North Carolina Player's Power Play Turns $50,000 Into $250,000
The ticket from the Sept. 23 drawing was bought in Dallas, N.C., in Gaston County.
A Gaston County player turned a $50,000 Powerball prize into $250,000 by adding Power Play. The ticket matched four white balls and the Powerball in the Sept. 23, 2026 drawing, and the Power Play number that night was 5X.
The ticket was bought at Will's Food Stores on Dallas High Shoals Highway in Dallas, N.C., according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. After federal and state tax withholding, the winner took home $180,026.
How Power Play changed the prize
Power Play costs $1 more per play. It multiplies every prize except the jackpot by the number drawn, which is 2X, 3X, 4X or 5X, or 10X when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less. Without it, this ticket would have paid $50,000.
What this means for players
Power Play does not change your chance of winning; it only changes how much a non-jackpot prize pays. In North Carolina, prizes of $100,000 or more are claimed in person at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.
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