Lawyer to lottery officials: Client with winning Powerball ticket will wait to claim prize

RALEIGH, N.C. – A lawyer has told North Carolina lottery officials that a client with a winning Powerball ticket is waiting to claim the prize.

Lottery officials said in a news release Friday that the lawyer said the client has a winning ticket for the $564 million jackpot. Officials were told "no immediate claim of the prize is planned." Officials did not identify the lawyer.

The ticket was sold at a convenience store in the coastal town of Shallotte.

Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery, said lottery officials won't know for sure who the winner is until the winning ticket is brought to lottery headquarters.

That person will receive a third of the jackpot along with winners in Texas and Puerto Rico. Winners have 180 days to claim their prize.