RALEIGH – A McDowell County man who won $1 million instantly says he and his wife will share their prize money with their four sons and spend more time with their five grandchildren.

Jack Piercy Jr. was on his way to visit a family member in Morganton on Monday morning when he stopped to fuel up at the Gate store on Green Street. There, he bought a $10 ticket for the $1,000,000 Jackpot game. Moments later, he was stunned.

“I scratched it off and saw a dollar bill symbol and, below it, it said ‘$1 MIL,’” Piercy recalled. “I said, ‘Let the party begin.’”

Piercy called his wife.

“Guess what I just hit on a scratch-off?” he asked her. “Baby, you’re a millionaire.”

A $1 million prize in the game can be claimed in 20 annuity payments of $50,000 or a one-time payment of $600,000. Piercy chose the lump sum, worth $415,503 after taxes.

Piercy, a native of Old Fort and retired from 30 years as a locomotive engineer, said he’ll let his wife decide how to spend the prize money.

“We’ll let the boys enjoy it,” he added. “We might travel a bit, but spending time with the grandchildren is more important than us traveling.”

With Piercy’s claim, two top prizes of $1 million remain to be claimed in the $1,000,000 Jackpot game.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion for the state last year. For details on how more than $13.8 million in lottery funds have made a difference for specific education programs in McDowell County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.