James Blalock of Sanford took a chance on a $3 Power Play ticket and won a $100,000 Powerball prize.

Blalock bought his lucky ticket from Short Stop on Carbonton Road in Sanford. He matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball in the Oct. 18 drawing to win $50,000. His prize doubled to $100,000 when the 2X multiplier hit.

Blalock arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to claim his prize and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $71,251.

Monday’s Powerball drawing offers a $85 million jackpot, or $36.9 million in cash.

Players can buy Powerball tickets at any lottery retail location or through Online Play on the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

Ticket sales from draw games like Powerball made it possible for the lottery to raise over $1 billion last year for education. For details on how $4.7 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Lee County in 2022, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.