Charlotte man wins $1 million in NC lottery

A Charlotte man won $1 million in the N.C. lottery’s Ultimate Millions second-chance drawing, lottery officials said Friday.

Eric Blankenship beat odds of 1 in 886,666. He claimed his prize on Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.

His entry was drawn from more than 1.5 million entries in the Nov. 22 drawing. His win was the last of three second-chance drawings associated with the Ultimate Millions game, according to the lottery. The drawing also awarded 10 prizes of $5,000 and 25 prizes of $500.

The Ultimate Millions game started in 2015. Since all three second-chance prizes and all of the game’s top prizes have been claimed, the lottery is ending the game.

Blankenship had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year, or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $417,006, lottery officials said.

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Charlotte man wins $1 million in NC lottery."