RALEIGH, NC (WNCN) – A single mother with four children emerged as the winner of a massive jackpot with the North Carolina Education Lottery on Monday, claiming $127 million in a lump sum.
Marie Holmes, 26, of Shallotte still seemed in shock by the massive Powerball win.
“I’m not sure how I feel right now,” Holmes said.
She did, however, feel dramatically wealthier, saying she definitely planned to move and wants to travel. Holmes said she had been to Seattle and New York but otherwise had traveled little outside North Carolina.
Now, she said, she wants to see Paris, the 50 states, and who knows where else.
Holmes said her mother bought the winning ticket for her while on the way to church at the Scotchman on Whiteville Road in Shallotte.
Holmes had previously said she quit jobs at Wal-Mart and McDonald’s to care for her four children, one of whom has cerebral palsy. Her children are 7, 4 and 3 years old and she also has a 9 month old.
“This is going to make a huge difference for them,” she said. “They’ll be able to have a comfortable life.”
Holmes said she wasn’t watching when the numbers were announced. That next morning, she saw the numbers on her phone and thought, “This can’t be right.”
“When I actually checked them, I scared my kids because I was jumping up and down,” she said.
She has hired an attorney and financial adviser and said she will rely on them for advice.
Holmes said her mother spent $15 for five $3 tickets. Holmes said she later bought five more tickets but she said she only played the lottery rarely.
“I only played when I had spare cash,” she said.
She said she would give money to her church and would also give to other charities.
But she also gave a hint of how her life has changed, and will remain changed, after becoming a millionaire. She now has security with her at all times, for example.
The two other winning tickets were sold in Texas and Puerto Rico.
