Michael Zimmerman of Liberty, an assistant manager of a convenience store, says he plans to pay off the mortgage on his home with part of the $4 million he won playing the Millionaire Bucks game.

Zimmerman, who works at the Ready Mart on North Main Street in Randleman, bought the winning $20 ticket at the store on his day off. He got one ticket and didn’t win anything, but something told him to buy a second one. That one turned out to be worth $4 million.

“I almost fell down,” Zimmerman said Friday as he received his check. “I was totally stunned, like a deer in the headlights.”

Zimmerman had the option of taking a $4 million annuity or a lump sum worth $2.4 million. He chose the lump sum. After required state and federal withholdings, he took home $1,662,006. He plans to use some of the money to pay off his home.
“I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to own my own house,” Zimmerman said. “I’ll have to have an old-fashioned mortgage burning party.”

Zimmerman is the first to win a top prize playing Millionaire Bucks. The game began in January with three top prizes of $4 million and five prizes of $1 million. Two $4 million prizes and four $1 million prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like Millionaire Bucks made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how over $53.6 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Randolph County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.