Mitch and Sally Hathaway of Hope Mills are the most recent North Carolinians to win $1 million playing the lottery. Mitch Hathaway purchased a lucky ticket for the Maximum Green instant game at the Gray’s Creek BP on N.C. 87 South in Fayetteville. It beat odds of 1 in 840,000 to win $1 million.

The Hathaways could have claimed their $1 million prize as an annuity paid out over the next 20 years but opted instead for the cash option of $600,000. After required state and federal withholdings, the prize was worth $408,003.

With the Hathaways’ $1 million win, two top prizes remain to be claimed in the game. Maximum Green is a $10 game that started in February of 2012 with eight $1 million prizes.

Lottery players across North Carolina could win millions in Wednesday’s Powerball drawing. The annuity value is estimated at $400 million, making the cash option worth $223.6 million. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 175 million. The drawing will be held at 10:59 p.m.

Ticket sales make it possible for the N.C. Education Lottery to raise money for education programs in all 100 counties. Details about how more than $97.9 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Cumberland County are available on the “Where the Money Goes” page on the lottery’s website.