By Friday afternoon, they were paying out at least $110,000 to winners. Two lucky folks showed up at the lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim a $10,000 prize -- and the first $100,000 prize.
The first big winner showed up Friday morning as a $10,000 winner. The next winner, Richard Garland, showed up from Newton at just after 2 p.m. to get his check.
Garland, who works at a furniture store, said he planned to use some of his winnings to buy a house. After taxes, he'll end up with $68,000.
Garland bought the ticket at a store in Conover.
"We are excited about what this means for education in North Carolina," said Tom Shaheen, executive director. "Overall, we are very pleased with the way everything came together on launch day."
Nearly 5,000 retailers were online and selling tickets Thursday.
At least 35 percent of every ticket sale must go to public-school construction, class-size reduction, need-based college scholarships and a voluntary pre-kindergarten program.
The multistate Powerball numbers game is set to begin in late May.
The lottery law also sets aside up to $1 million to assist problem gamblers and requires strict advertising restrictions.
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