Powerball winners from North Carolina realize their dreams when they use their Powerball jackpot to fund home renovations.
When it comes to Powerball players, there’s no shortage of extravagant spending among those who take home the monstrous jackpots. Some players dream of big, fancy homes, exotic cars, and lavish global travel. But you don’t have to be a Powerball jackpot winner to enjoy some newfound wealth. And depending on your list of things to do with Powerball winnings, you could very well realize your dreams with smaller Powerball prizes. What could you do with $50,000 or $100,000, for example?
In this Powerball winner story, a couple in North Carolina managed to make their dreams come true without having won the actual jackpot prize. Their Powerball win managed to fund their dream home renovation, which was a glorious victory for them. And it's a reminder that even smaller-scale Powerball prizes can be just as significant as the massive prizes.
The Raleigh, North Carolina Couple
This story involves Thomas Pharr, 67, and his wife, longtime residents of North Carolina. For years, the couple had talked about renovating their home. But, like most Americans, time and budget constraints had put those big ideas on hold. And while they continued to dream big, they hadn't been able to make those big project renovations a reality yet.
Pharr said he’d often play Powerball, buying tickets sporadically just for fun. But in all those previously played Powerball drawings, the most he’d ever won was $40. That would all change last September when Pharr managed to finally match a few Powerball numbers.
The Powerball Drawing That Changed Everything
Thomas Pharr bought what would prove to be his lucky Powerball ticket on the September 17th drawing in 2022. He chose the three-dollar Power Play ticket, enacting the 3x multiplier on a qualifying hit of chosen numbers. Pharr’s life changed when he realized he’d actually managed to match four white balls and the Powerball.
Pharr told news reporters that he “had to look at it two or three times” in disbelief. He double-checked all the zeros before handing the ticket over to his wife to verify his eyes hadn’t been deceiving him. While they hadn’t won the Powerball jackpot nor matched all the numbers drawn, they did manage to match a few worth a win of $50,000. But because he’d also played the Power Play 3x multiplier, that prize surged to $150,000. “We were surprised and excited,” Pharr said understandably.
The Dream Home Renovations Come True
The Pharrs went to their North Carolina lottery headquarters to claim their Powerball prize. After taxes, both state and federal, they took home a check for $106,516. And it was more than enough for the couple to realize their home renovation dreams they’d put off for so long. And it just proves that dreams can come true, even if the Powerball prize isn’t the multi-million dollar jackpot.
What projects or dream travels do you hope to one day make a reality? Would a Powerball prize of $50,000 or $150,000 help you achieve those goals? For Thomas Pharr and his wife, their Powerball prize more than satisfied their plans to renovate their home. And based on their enthusiasm with reporters and in claiming their prize, it's evidence that even small victories can be big dreams come true.
This Powerball winner story is inspiring to those who play, knowing that even smaller wins can be life-changing and make those bucket list dreams come true. It’s also a good reminder to consider the Power Play feature when you play Powerball. Like the Pharrs of North Carolina, the Power Play feature can take an ordinary, marginal win and turn it into a sizable nest egg.