Jone Buadromo from Bayboro won a $100,000 prize playing Powerball, but he delayed collecting it for almost two months because he wanted to tell his wife the good news on her birthday.

“I waited until the end of May because I wanted to surprise her on her birthday with the win,” Buadromo said.

When he announced the news on his wife’s birthday, he said she didn’t initially believe him.

“She thought I was making a joke or something,” Buadromo laughed. “I told her, ‘No we really won.’”

Buadromo’s $3 Power Play ticket matched numbers on four white balls and the Powerball in the April 11 drawing to win $50,000. His prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X multiplier hit.

“I didn’t believe it at first either,” he said. “I just tried to keep calm as much as possible.”

Buadromo, 72, purchased his ticket from the Handy Mart on N.C. 55 in Alliance. He claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $71,011.

Buadromo said he is considering using his winnings to buy some land at the beach and possibly build a rental home.

Saturday’s Powerball drawing offers a $184 million jackpot, or $109.3 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

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 draw games like Powerball make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how money raised by the lottery made a difference in Pamlico County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.