Good luck can hit any time, and for Christopher Veasey of Creedmoor, it struck Saturday night when he stopped for gas and walked away with a lottery ticket worth $1 million.

“I went to pay,” Veasey said. “And just decided to get one.”

He scratched the $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler ticket when he got home later that evening.

“When I saw the ‘41’ at the top I couldn’t believe it,” Veasey said. “I thought, ‘Oh yeah! I’ve got a $1 million winner.’”

Veasey said he celebrated by drinking a Mountain Dew. He claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $423,012. He plans to invest the money.

Veasey bought the $20 ticket at the Smart Stop Mini Mart on Central Avenue in Butner.

$4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler launched in September 2017 with three top prizes of $4 million and six $1 million prizes. One $4 million prize and three $1 million prizes remain.

Ticket sales from instant games like $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for the state. 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.