Single mother of four wins Powerball

RALEIGH, N.C. – A single mother of four from a small North Carolina town came forward Monday as one of three winners in a huge Powerball jackpot drawn earlier this month.

For Marie Holmes, the best thing about the lucky ticket in the $564 million jackpot is that she’ll be able to provide for her children, she said at a news conference. All are under the age of 7 – three daughters and a son with cerebral palsy.

Holmes, 26, said she gave her mom $15 to buy five Quick Pick tickets at a Scotchman convenience store on her way to church.

Holmes and her family live in a single-wide trailer in Shallotte – a coastal town of about 4,000 people just north of the South Carolina border. She worked at Wal-Mart, McDonald’s and other places before recently quitting to stay home with her children.

She didn’t watch the Feb. 11 numbers drawing on television and didn’t learn she held the winning ticket until the following morning.

“I started screaming and jumping around,” she said.

Holmes said she’ll take the lump-sum payment option of $127 million, which will total about $88 million after taxes. She said she’ll tithe a percentage of the money to her church and charities.