Lottery player wins first $10 million prize in new North Carolina game. ‘Was in shock’
A lottery player won the first $10 million prize in a new North Carolina game — and “couldn’t believe her luck,” officials said.
“I was in shock,” Patricia Brunson told the N.C. Education Lottery in a Feb. 20 news release.
Brunson scored the huge win after she stopped at Homestead Family Fare in Durham. At the Guess Road business, she tried her luck on the $10 Million Spectacular game, which launched in December.
It turns out, Brunson’s $50 scratch-off ticket was worth much more. She beat 1-in-3.2 million odds to win the top prize of $10 million, according to the game’s rules.
The lucky winner, who is from Durham, decided to take her jackpot prize as a lump sum of $6 million. She kept about $4.2 million after taxes, officials said.
Though lump sums are most common in North Carolina, another recent lottery winner chose a different path. After giving it some thought, the man made the tough decision to split his big prize into annual payments, McClatchy News reported in January.
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This story was originally published February 20, 2024 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Lottery player wins first $10 million prize in new North Carolina game. ‘Was in shock’."
