Durham man claims $1 million Powerball prize

A Durham man who won $1,000,000 in the Powerball drawing this week doesn't have specific plans for the jackpot, other than to maybe buy a new couch.

Larry Basden, 61, bought his ticket around dinnertime on Wednesday at Bilboa Food Mart on Angier Avenue. He plays Powerball a couple of times a week, spending $5 or $10 each time.

When filling out his slip for Wednesday night's drawing, Basden played random numbers. "Just what came to me on the top of my head," he said. "I ain't got no system."

The numbers were so random that Basden, who is retired from the City of Durham's water department, couldn't recall them Thursday afternoon.

For the record, Basden matched the five white balls -- 20, 24, 37, 48, 53 -- and missed only the red Powerball. That kind of luck generally nets the winner $200,000. But Basden took advantage of the game's "power play" feature and doubled his bet. When the power-play multiplier came in at 5, it quintupled his prize to $1 million.

Basden watched the drawing live on TV Wednesday night, writing down the numbers as they were announced. When he realized he had a winner, he called for his wife, Rosalyn. "My mouth just fell open. I said, 'hey, you better come in and look at these.'"

Basden said he planned to invest the money. When asked about perhaps taking a vacation or buying new appliances, the brand-new millionaire said he might buy a couch.

Because there were no grand-prize winner Wednesday, the jackpot for Saturday's drawing is expected to be $153 million.