Alabama Man Wins Lottery In North Carolina

Don't get me wrong. I never begrudge anyone who is lucky enough to win a lottery. Sure I want it to be me, but if it's you? God bless. That being said, I am a little against the story that begins: Alabama man wins lottery. It's no secret, my four-year work experience in Birmingham is not exactly a highlight of my life. I consider my escape to North Carolina to be the best thing that ever happened to my family. So, THE LAST thing I want to hear is that someone from there, is winning my money here! <g>

I know, I know, this requires a little explanation. So, here goes. Christopher Baker is a resident of Leesburg, Alabama (about an hour or so northeast of Birmingham). He'd been visiting the Tar Heel State recently for work.

Baker picked up a $3 Quick Pick Ticket for Saturday night's Powerball drawing at "Jack B Quick" in Hickory. Christopher's ticket matched numbers with four of those magical white balls AND the red Powerball to win $50,000. However, if you'll notice I said he purchased a $3 ticket. That means he paid the extra buck for the "Powerplay" multiplier. In this drawing, that doubled his winnings. BOOM! Fifty grand instantly become one hundred thousand dollars! Baker tells North Carolina Education Lottery officials, “It was definitely a shocker. I just kept looking at it to make sure I was reading it right. I told my family but they didn’t believe me either.”

Interesting to note that even though Powerball is a national contest (and can be played in Alabama), because Christopher Baker purchased his ticket in North Carolina, his prize had to be claimed here. And that's exactly what was at the top of his agenda on Wednesday (7/17). After taxes, Christopher Baker of Leesburg, Alabama had a deposit made in his account from the state of North Carolina to the tune of $71,501. He plans to save the windfall to use towards a future home purchase.

There are some states that are luckier than others. There is no doubt about it. North Carolina made the list of 15 lucky states in the United States, according to OLBG. Everyone has fantasized about winning the lottery, whether it's the Mega Millions or the Powerball. Whether you're planning a lavish vacation, buying a house, treating a loved one, giving to charity, or all of the above, when we buy a ticket we always have a little bit of hope and our imaginations go wild when we hear about the unclaimed winning ticket...

When it comes to winning big on the lottery, which states are the luckiest? To determine where in America has the greatest likelihood of winning the big bucks, OLBG analyzed all lottery winners in the U.S. with a jackpot of $300 million or more. You can see the top 15 states below.

California was ranked 12th luckiest state despite having the highest number of big lottery winners, primarily because the state has such a large population that there are very few lottery winners, and the average winning ticket for a California winner is only $190.5 million.

North Carolina has won a whopping $1.1 billion between both lottery winners, making its average winning ticket $550 million, the highest in the country. As a result of its higher population, North Carolina didn't quite capture the title by itself, with a lower percentage of its population winning than New Hampshire.

In terms of lottery jackpot winners, New Hampshire and North Carolina share the gold for the luckiest states. Residents in New Hampshire have won a total of $693.7 million, which is an average of $346.85 million per winning ticket. As one of the states with the highest percentage of people who have won over $300 million, New Hampshire has the third smallest population.