Watching the luck running out for his Clemson Tigers football team inspired Jacob Strickland of Asheboro to try his own luck playing Powerball, resulting in a $150,000 prize.

“We were watching football with some friends and Clemson was getting beat terribly by Notre Dame,” Strickland said. “We were joking we should get lottery tickets because our luck couldn’t get any worse.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Strickland, a 29-year-old welder, purchased a Quick Pick ticket for the Nov. 5 drawing using Online Play on his phone.

“It really was a last-minute thing right before the drawing,” he said.

Strickland’s luck prevailed as he matched numbers on four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000 on his $3 Power Play ticket. The prize tripled to $150,000 when the 3X Power Play multiplier hit.

“It was just a day of disbelief because I’ve never won anything before,” Strickland said.

After he called his mom to tell her he won, Strickland sent a screenshot of his win to his friends who he watched the Clemson game with.

“They all thought I was lying,” he laughed.

Strickland claimed his prize Tuesday and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $106,516. He said he will invest some of the money and put the rest in savings.

Powerball is one of four lottery games in North Carolina 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. The other games are Mega Millions, Lucky For Life, and Carolina Cash 5.

Ticket sales from lottery games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $8.2 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Randolph County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.