Mystery solved: NC lottery jackpot winner steps up. Here’s how he’ll spend his prize.
Not long after North Carolina lottery officials put out a call for a mystery jackpot winner, he showed up at lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim his prize, officials said Tuesday.
The winner of the Jackpot 7’s ticket was a mystery at first, with lottery officials on Friday morning saying the player had six months to claim the prize.
Michael Miller of Salisbury showed up that afternoon at lottery headquarters in Raleigh to collect his $332,830 Fast Play prize, according to a lottery news release on Tuesday.
After taxes, he took home $235,483, officials said.
Miller works on bridges for the N.C. Department of Transportation.
He bought the ticket at Charlie’s Market on Faith Road in Salisbury, officials said.
Miller beat odds of 1 in 240,000 in winning the top prize in the game, according to the Jackpot 7’s page on the lottery website.
“The first time I tried it, and I won,” Miller said. “I won the jackpot, and I thought I had won $200,000 extra. And sure enough, I did. It was shocking.
The money will help pay for a new home, he said when he claimed the jackpot, according to the release.
“It came at a great time,” he told officials at lottery headquarters. “We’re getting a new home. I’ve got to make sure my mom and dad are good, and then I’m going to invest the rest.”Jackpot 7’s is the first $20 game in the lottery’s Fast Play game.
Fast Play tickets give players a chance to win a progressive jackpot instantly, along with an additional $200,000 prize.
The Fast Play jackpot rises with every ticket sold, according to the lottery.
“After Friday’s win, the jackpot started over at $20,000,” according to a lottery news release on Friday. “As of noon Friday, the jackpot had climbed back past $21,000 and continues to grow.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Mystery solved: NC lottery jackpot winner steps up. Here’s how he’ll spend his prize.."