North Carolina elementary school teachers win $100,000 Powerball just before Christmas
By Carrie Hodgin
Click here for updates on this story
SWANSBORO, North Carolina (WXII) — A group of teachers just struck it big, and right before Christmas, playing Powerball together.
“I couldn’t hardly talk,” Nicole Meadows said, recalling the moment she found out. “I was hyperventilating.”
The group of teachers calls themselves the “Nine Lucky Pirates” after their school mascot.
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here
“Fifteen years ago, it just kind of started as a joke and we were walking down the hall going, ‘If we won that we could retire early,’” Meadows said, now not believing their luck!
They bought the winning $3 Power Play ticket from a Walmart on West Corbett Avenue in Swansboro.
Click the video player above to watch the latest headlines from WXII 12 News.
Suellen Dixon, one of the teachers, said she’ll never forget the call that she got!
“She is like, ‘We won!’ and I am like, ‘What?’ and Leah Allen goes, ‘She is for real; we won, we won!’” Dixon said.
The nine teachers split the prize so each claimed $11,110 and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, each took home $7,972.
The teachers from Swansboro Elementary School who have won are the following:
Leah Allen of Swansboro
Mary Brooks of Swansboro
Leah Cottle of Swansboro
Suellen Dixon of Swansboro
Lori Jones of Maysville
Jill Kidd of Hubert
Nicole Meadows of Hubert
Cynthia Paredes of Hubert
Melinda Whorley of Hubert
Congrats!
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.