Tamara Laughinghouse of Mooresville has won a $200,000 prize in the North Carolina Education Lottery’s Powerball game. Ms. Laughinghouse found out she was a winner while on a family trip in Wyoming. She has used the same special family birthday numbers to play Powerball for over 20 years.

Ms. Laughinghouse bought the winning $3 Power Play ticket from the Food Lion on Brawley School Road in Mooresville. She claimed her prize Thursday (August 3) in Raleigh and, after required withholdings, took home $142,501.

Ms. Laughinghouse said she and her husband might use some of her winnings to travel to Italy where her great-great-grandfather is from. She also plans to save some money and donate some to her old high school to help fund scholarships for students there.

For details on how money raised by the lottery made a difference in your county last year, visit nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.