Concord student Bram Dunehew wins $2 million Powerball prize

Bram Dunehew, a college student studying civil engineering in Concord, never intended to buy a lottery ticket last Friday. But when the receipt at the gas pump failed to print, he walked inside Sam’s Mart on N.C. 49 in Harrisburg and picked up a $3 Powerball ticket—a small detour that would turn into a $2 million prize in Saturday’s Halloween drawing, the North Carolina Lottery reported.

The win came when Dunehew matched all five white balls, securing the $1 million second prize. Because he purchased the optional Power Play, his winnings doubled to $2 million. “It’s crazy because I never would have even bought that ticket if the receipt printed outside,” Dunehew said. “I think Halloween’s now my favorite holiday. Trick or treating was fun as a kid but this is insane.”

Dunehew, who hails from Concord, bought the lucky ticket at Sam’s Mart on N.C. 49 in Harrisburg. The $3 purchase included the Power Play multiplier, which transformed what would have been a $1 million prize into the $2 million jackpot he ultimately claimed. “It’s absolutely preposterous,” he said. “I fell over when I saw it.”

He arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to claim his winnings. After required federal and state tax withholdings, Dunehew took home $1,440,201. Although Dunehew’s Power Play doubled his prize to $2 million, required federal and state tax withholdings reduced his take-home amount to $1,440,201.

The engineering student has already earmarked part of his windfall for family. Dunehew plans to use his winnings to buy his father a Cadillac, turning a spontaneous gas station purchase into a tangible gift. His story highlights how lottery fortunes can hinge on the smallest interruptions in daily routine—a printer malfunction at a neighborhood gas station that redirected an ordinary Friday errand toward a life-altering outcome.

While Dunehew celebrated his seven-figure prize, Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot stood at an $835 million annuity or $357.9 million in cash, offering future players odds of 1 in 292 million to win the top prize. The contrast between Dunehew’s $2 million second-tier win and the towering jackpot illustrates the steep statistical reality of Powerball: matching all five white balls without the red Powerball is already a 1 in 11.7 million feat, making his Halloween windfall a genuine statistical anomaly.

The odds of 1 in 292 million that govern the Powerball jackpot make Dunehew’s Halloween receipt-printing failure look less like bad luck and more like the kind of fortunate accident that defines lottery folklore.

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