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RALEIGH – Edward Simmons of Wadesboro took a chance on a $3 Powerball ticket and won a $2 million prize.

Simmons bought his lucky Power Play ticket from the Speedway on East Caswell Street in Wadesboro. He matched the numbers on all five white balls to win $2 million in Saturday’s drawing. The odds of matching all five white balls are 1 in 11.6 million.

Simmons claimed his prize at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $1,425,001.

Wednesday’s Powerball drawing offers a $143 million jackpot, or $73 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

Powerball is one of six lottery games in North Carolina, including the newly added Pick 3 and Pick 4, 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.

Ticket sales from draw games like Powerball make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. The state provided $30 million in grants, using money raised by the lottery, to help Anson County build new schools. For details on other ways Anson County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.