The NC lottery ticket had ‘jackpot’ on it, so he bought one and took home a top prize
A North Carolina man never intended to try the lottery during a stop at a convenience store, but something told him to take the plunge when he saw “Jackpot” on one of the tickets, state lottery officials said.
Trusting his intuition, Kannapolis resident Wesley Russell won $588,878 on the $20 Fast Play Jackpot 7’s ticket he bought Monday at the Speedway on South Cannon Boulevard in Kannapolis, according to a lottery news release Wednesday.
He beat odds of 1 in 240,000, according to the lottery.
Russell initially won the $388,878 Fast Play jackpot, but reaped another $200,000 by playing the $20 ticket, officials said.
After taxes, he took home $416,637, according to the lottery.
“For some reason, I really was feeling super lucky, and something was telling me to buy that ticket,” Russell said when he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Tuesday, according to the release. “I think I’m still dreaming.”
He didn’t believe he’d won, so he showed the worker at the register, “and then he started freaking out, too,” Russell said. “I thought I was being punked or something.”
With a baby expected in January, his jackpot came at the perfect time, he told lottery officials.
He also intends to buy his parents a new home.
“My parents are the only people who have always stood by my side,” Russell said. “I learned how to be a good person from them, and it’s time to pay them back.”
The Fast Play jackpot rises with every ticket sold, until someone wins it, according to the lottery. Players see instantly on their tickets if they’ve won and how much.