Grandpa scores huge Powerball prize in North Carolina. Now, he plans to help family

A North Carolina grandfather won a lottery prize so big, he called all of his relatives to tell them the news.

Robert Crumel scored $2 million after his ticket matched all but one number in the Powerball drawing on Saturday, Sept. 30, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.

“I called my whole family, all my kids,” Crumel told lottery officials in an Oct. 2 news release. “I won on numbers I picked from birthdays of my kids and grandkids.”

After he learned he was getting richer, Crumel said he wants to help his family members.

“I needed it and my family needed it too,” he said in the release.

Crumel’s ticket matched five white balls picked in the recent drawing, scoring him a $1 million prize. But that big prize doubled because he spent an extra dollar on the Power Play ticket option, officials said.

The lucky ticket was sold at a Murphy Express gas station in Zebulon, roughly 20 miles northeast of downtown Raleigh.

Though Crumel won big, he missed out on the estimated jackpot prize of $969 million. Anyone wanting to hit the jackpot faces odds of roughly 1 in 292 million, officials said.

The winning numbers in the Sept. 30 drawing were white balls 19-30-37-44-46, with Powerball number 22.

Lottery officials told McClatchy News in an email that no one claimed the prize as of early Oct. 2, but they later reported that Crumel had come forward. He is from Middlesex, in Nash County and roughly 30 miles east of downtown Raleigh.

“I’ve been playing Powerball ever since it came out,” Crumel told officials. “I kept on playing, never gave up, and my day finally came.”

Crumel kept about $1.4 million after taxes.

This story has been updated with information on the lottery winner.

This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 9:43 AM.

Simone Jasper

The News & Observer

919-836-5768

Simone Jasper is a service journalism reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.