RALEIGH – On Sunday, Hamlet resident Michael Heckert woke up, made coffee and checked the lottery app for the numbers from the Powerball drawing the night before.

“First I checked the Powerball number,” Heckert said. “I thought ‘Wow, I got the Powerball.’ I got the first number. I got the second number. I didn’t get the third, but I got the fourth and got the fifth.”

A regular Powerball player, Heckert immediately knew his pick of numbers just won $100,000.

He turned to his wife, sitting in the living room, and said, “We’re going to Raleigh.”

Heckert bought the winning $3 Power Play ticket at the ALCO on East Spring Street in Hamlet. The numbers matched four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000. Because Heckert added the Power Play feature, the prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X multiplier was drawn.

He claimed his prize money Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal withholdings, he received a check for $69,501.

Heckert said he plans to use the money to buy a diamond ring for his wife, presents for his grandkids, and an iPhone for himself.

The jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing has reached an estimated $187 million annuity with a cash value of $116.4 million.

Ticket sales from draw games like Powerball make it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars a year for the state. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in Richmond County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.