NC man thought his winning lottery ticket was a misprint. He hit the jackpot
A North Carolina man thought his winning scratch-off ticket was a misprint, but he really did hit the jackpot, lottery officials said this week.
“It was a crazy feeling,” Travis Wilhelm of Statesville said when he claimed his $1 million prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Monday, according to a lottery news release. “I looked back and forth like 10 different times.”
Wilhelm bought the $10 ticket in his favorite Emerald 10’s game at a Fast Phil’s convenience store on Harmony Highway in the northern Iredell County town of Harmony.
He beat odds of 1 in 3.8 million, according to the lottery game page.
Wilhelm has played the game since it debuted April 1 and believed from the start that he’d win the grand prize someday.
“When that ticket came out, I knew that was my ticket,” he said. “I’ve been playing it ever since.”
Still, he looked at the winning ticket “over and over to believe his good luck,” officials said.
Wilhelm had the choice of a $50,000 annuity over 20 years and a $600,000 lump sum. He chose the lump sum and took home $430,503. after taxes.
He said he’ll save the money and possibly buy a new car.
Three of the five top $1 million prizes remain to be claimed, according to the Emerald 10’s game page..