A Spindale man has won $1 million in the Powerball lottery, and his daughter appeared on national television New Year's Eve to accept the winnings. | Pexels/Tima Miroshnichenko
A Spindale man has won $1 million in the Powerball lottery, and his daughter appeared on national television New Year's Eve to accept the winnings. | Pexels/Tima Miroshnichenko
The new year started with a new million-dollar winner, which is making 2023 look like a good year for Gary Krigbaum of Spindale, North Carolina.
He is the first Powerball millionaire of the year, and as such, he also got his 15 seconds of fame as the drawing was broadcast on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023” on Sunday.
His daughter, Sarah Day, accepted the prize on his behalf. “Dad, Dad, I’m bringing home a million dollars!” she said, according to WCNC Charlotte News.
The prize was announced just minutes into 2023.
Krigbaum was one of eight North Carolinians selected from a second-chance drawing by the North Carolina Education Lottery as part of Powerball's First Millionaire of the Year promotion.
On New Year’s Eve, he was one of five entered into the pool for the cool million. Krigbaum could not make the trip to New York for the show, so his daughter attended in his place.
"I want my dad to have as much of it as possible,” Day told Seacrest. “I want him to go fishing and get his truck and whatever he needs.”
This was the fourth year that Powerball had partnered with the New Year’s Eve special to start the year off right for one lucky lottery player.
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