Mystery solved: Concord man steps up to claim nearly $700,000 in NC lottery winnings
The winner of a lottery prize worth nearly $700,000 has come forward — nearly a week after North Carolina lottery officials announced someone had a winning ticket stashed in their pocket.
Joshua Hinson of Concord collected his winnings Thursday at the N.C Education Lottery headquarters in Raleigh, state officials said in a news release.
His $10 Fast Play ticket was worth $691,417, which was whittled to $489,180 after Hinson paid state and federal taxes, officials said.
“I was just in awe,” Hinson said in the release. “Just stunned. It’s kind of hard to believe.”
The game offers multiple cash prizes and the odds of winning are 1 in 240,000, officials said.
Hinson purchased his ticket at the Circle K convenience store on Poplar Tent Road in Concord, and it came up a winner Friday, Nov. 6. Concord is about 20 miles northeast of Charlotte.
Winners have 180 days to claim lottery winnings. Otherwise, it is split by lottery officials, with half going to the Education Lottery Fund and half going “to enhance prizes” in other games, according to state law.
The $10 Jackpot 7’s game has a “rolling, progressive jackpot” that “starts at $20,000 and keeps on rolling until it’s won,” according to NClottery.com.
How much a winner gets depends on how much they spend: A $2 ticket gets 20% of the money, a $5 ticket gets 50% and a $10 ticket gets the entire jackpot, according to the lottery site.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 11:10 AM.