Teacher of 30 years is ‘ecstatic’ over $1 million NC lottery win. ‘It was a big wow’
A teacher of more than 30 years tried his luck on a lottery drawing — and scored a life-changing prize.
“It was a big wow,” Robert Vandenberg told the North Carolina Education Lottery. “It was really cool.”
Vandenberg, who teaches kindergarten, won $1 million after he spent $50 on a scratch-off ticket. He entered the ticket into the $8 Million Money Maker Second Chance drawing, where it beat out more than 979,000 others to score the top prize.
“This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time,” the lucky winner, who lives in Raleigh, told lottery officials in a March 12 news release.
The longtime teacher plans to put his prize money toward retirement. He took his winnings as a lump sum of $600,000 and kept $430,500 after taxes.
“We are ecstatic about this,” Vandenberg said, per the release.
The prize was announced at a lucky time for North Carolina educators. On March 11, lottery officials said an assistant principal won big in the Powerball game.
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 8:53 AM with the headline "Teacher of 30 years is ‘ecstatic’ over $1 million NC lottery win. ‘It was a big wow’."
