RALEIGH — Laura Pugerude of Charlotte won a $500,000 prize from the Powerball while playing a $3 ticket on Saturday. She purchased her winning ticket at the Charlotte’s Landing bookstore and gift shop at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Pugerude’s ticket was a Double Play, which costs $1 and allows players to enter their numbers into an additional drawing for a chance to win up to $10 million. She matched all five white ball numbers in the Powerball Double Play drawing, with odds of that happening at 1 in 11.6 million.
Pugerude claimed her winnings at lottery headquarters on Thursday after the drawing. After necessary federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $358,751.
The current Powerball jackpot stands at an impressive $1.5 billion in annuity or $686.5 million in cash, with jackpot-winning odds at 1 in 292 million.
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