‘I’m still in shock’: Retired NC teacher hits Powerball jackpot after bridge game

Jonathan Limehouse
·1 min read

After some persuading by a friend, a retired North Carolina teacher bought a Powerball ticket for the Jan. 19 drawing.

Nancy Linn “couldn’t even believe it” when she won big.

Linn, 72, of Salisbury told North Carolina Education Lottery officials that she to thank her friend for the $150,000 win.

Nancy Linn, 72, of Salisbury won a $150,000 Powerball prize because a friend convinced her to buy a $3 ticket for the Jan. 19 drawing after their bridge game.
Nancy Linn, 72, of Salisbury won a $150,000 Powerball prize because a friend convinced her to buy a $3 ticket for the Jan. 19 drawing after their bridge game.

That friend suggested that Linn buy a $3 Power Play ticket after their bridge game. That ticket matched four of the five white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000. The prize tripled when the 3X multiplier was drawn.

“I was so ecstatic, I couldn’t even believe it,” Linn said, according to a lottery news release. “I’m still in shock.”

Linn, a retired first-grade teacher and tennis coach in Rowan County, bought her ticket at Han-Dee Hugo’s on Statesville Boulevard in Salisbury. The win is so meaningful to her because of her teaching background, she said.

“As a former teacher, I really can appreciate how great the lottery is for education,” Linn said.

Linn claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After taxes, she took home $106,516. Some of the money will go to remodeling her bathroom, but also to people in need, she said.

“There are a lot of different organizations and people I know that could really use a pick-me-up,” Linn said.

The odds of matching four white balls and the Powerball are 1 in 913,129, according to the lottery website.

The current Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is $91 million, or $63.5 million cash. The odds of winning a jackpot are 1 in 292 million.