Bernard Lawson Jr. of Wilmington used the first numbers that came into his head to win a $100,000 Powerball prize.

“I still don’t know how I did it,” Lawson said. “I just started picking numbers.”

Those numbers turned out to be lucky for Lawson, a security officer, and he beat the odds of 1 in 913,129 to win $100,000 in Saturday’s drawing.

“People call it lucky,” Lawson said. “I call it blessed.”

Lawson claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he received $69,250. He plans to use some of the money to make sure his kids have a great Christmas.

He bought the $3 Power Play ticket at the Minuteman Food Mart on North JK Powell Boulevard in Whiteville. The numbers matched four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000. The prize doubled when the 2X multiplier was drawn for Power Play tickets.

The jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is $40 million with an estimated lump sum of $23.7 million.

Ticket sales from games like Powerball made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $634 million dollars for the state last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in New Hanover County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.