RALEIGH — High Shoals resident James Mosley won a $250,000 Powerball prize in the Sept. 23 drawing after purchasing a ticket in Dallas, N.C. Education Lottery officials said.
Mosley bought the lucky $3 ticket at Will’s Food Stores on Dallas High Shoals Highway.
Mosley matched four white balls and the red Powerball to win a $50,000 base prize. Because he purchased a Power Play ticket, his winnings quintupled to $250,000 when the 5X multiplier was drawn.
He claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters, taking home $180,026 after required federal and state tax withholdings.
Mosley selected his winning numbers using a combination of family birth dates, including his own, his wife’s and three of their grandchildren’s. He had played the same set of numbers for years and considered stopping three weeks prior to the winning drawing.
“I’ve played the same numbers for years, and three weeks ago I thought about stopping, but my wife convinced me not to,” Mosley said. “I use my birthday, her birthday and three of our grandkids’ birthdays.”
After discovering the winning ticket, Mosley phoned his wife to share the news, though she was initially skeptical.
“I called my wife to tell her and she didn’t believe it,” Mosley said. “She said, ‘Don’t be lying to me.’”
Mosley plans to use his lottery payout to remodel his home.
Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot stands at a $562 million annuity or $230.4 million in cash.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
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