Powerball player just misses $1.2 billion jackpot, but still wins big in NC
A Powerball player just missed a $1.2 billion jackpot prize — but still won big in North Carolina.
The player bought a ticket that matched all but one number picked in the Sept. 1 drawing. Since the person spent an extra dollar on the Power Play option, their prize doubled to $2 million, results show.
The winning numbers: white balls 8-23-25-40-53, with red Powerball 5.
The player is in for a windfall after their $3 ticket matched all five white balls. It was sold to an online player in Clayton, a roughly 15-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh, the N.C. Education Lottery wrote on its website and in emails to McClatchy News.
The life-changing ticket was one number from hitting the jackpot, which stood at an estimated $1.2 billion the night of the drawing. The jackpot amount is expected to rise to $1.3 billion for the next drawing on Sept. 3, according to the Powerball website.
The $2 million prize added to a lucky night for Powerball players in North Carolina. A ticket sold at a Refuel convenience store in Raeford scored $50,000 in the same drawing, lottery officials wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
As of early Sept. 2, no one had claimed the $2 million prize. In North Carolina, Powerball winners have about six months to cash in, rules show.
What to know about Powerball
To score the jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Powerball player just misses $1.2 billion jackpot, but still wins big in NC."
