Marie Holmes is one of three winners of Wednesday’s Powerball, adding $188 million to her bank account. Holmes is a unemployed mother of four and one of those children has cerebral palsy.
Holmes’ story sounds like many lower middle class stories of struggle–she was working at Walmart and McDonald’s but needed to quit to take care of her children and now she never has to work again if she so chooses. She said the first thing she’s going to do with the money is tithe because, as she puts it, “I wouldn’t have none of it if it wasn’t for God.”
The Shallotte, NC 26-year-old lottery winner told local news, “I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I saw the ticket and checked it,” Holmes explained with a noticeable grin. The mother of four said she screamed after the winning numbers were drawn Wednesday night and ran and told her kids. “They said I scared them,” Holmes joked.
Holmes will be setting up college funds for her kids, buying a new home for them to live in (once they decide where they’d like to live)and of course a vacation is on the horizon. What a beautiful new reality for a struggling mother who could barely survive! “This is a life-changing event. The lucky winner should take some time and get sound professional advice before coming in to get the big check,” Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery said.
Holmes will confer with lawyers and speak to a financial advisor in Raleigh before turning in the ticket to North Carolina lottery officials. N.C. Education Lottery states that Holmes’ ticket is worth $188 million annuity paid over 30 years, or $127 million lump sum before state and federal taxes are taken out. Even the store Holmes bought the ticket from is set to receive $50,000 for selling the winning ticket.
The winning numbers were 11, 13, 25, 39 and 54, with the Powerball number being 19. The two other winning tickets were purchased in Puerto Rico and in Texas.
Congrats to Marie Holmes!
