Jack and Louise Jones of Wilmington are the first players to win $4 million playing the $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler scratch-off ticket.
They bought the $20 ticket at Lowes Foods on Carolina Beach Road in Wilmington.
They claimed their prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. They had the choice of taking a $4 million annuity that has 20 payments of $200,000 a year or a lump sum of $2.4 million. They chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, they took home $1.69 million.
$4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler launched in September with three top prizes of $4 million and six $1 million prizes. Two $4 million and four $1 million prizes remain.
Ticket sales from games like $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.