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Man stopped at a Food Lion for groceries, returned home with a $1M lottery jackpot

A man who stopped at a Food Lion for groceries also bought a $30 scratch-off lottery ticket. He’s glad he forked over the money because his decision scored him a $1 million jackpot, North Carolina lottery officials said Thursday.

Andre Berrette bought the winning Millionaire Maker scratch-off ticket at the store on Monroe Road in Charlotte, according to a lottery news release

The Charlotte man beat odds of 1 in 2.95 million, according to the Millionaire Maker page on the lottery website.

When he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Wednesday, Berrette had the choice of a $50,000 annuity over 20 years or a $600,000 lump sum. He took home $426,069 after choosing the lump sum, lottery officials said.

Berrette didn’t tell officials what he might do with the money. He couldn’t be reached by The Charlotte Observer on Thursday.

He was the 26th person to win the top Millionaire Maker prize since the game debuted in March 2021, according to the lottery.

This month, the lottery announced two other Charlotte-area Millionaire Maker top-prize winners.

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Kelly Wyatt of Statesville hit the jackpot with a ticket she bought at Fast Phil’s on Mocksville Highway in Statesville, and Daniel Jenkins of Lincolnton won in a Millionaire Maker second-chance drawing, according to lottery news releases.

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This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 3:15 PM.

Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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