Dirk Swing, a builder from Lexington, stopped to get a $2 bottle of water after a long day at work and ended up quenching his thirst for a $1 million scratch-off prize.

Swing had long hoped to win a big prize in the $300,000,000 Supreme Riches game but he said he was surprised to find his lucky ticket waiting for him when he stopped unexpectedly at the Crossroad Mart on Linwood-Southmont Road in Lexington.

“It’s just one of those things of fate that I assume I was meant to have it for some reason,” said Swing.

He says when he told his wife about his good luck, she dropped to the floor in tears. “I’m just a regular ‘ol country boy that was fortunate enough to win,” said Swing. “So, I feel very fortunate, and very lucky and very blessed, too.”

While the state’s Stay At Home order remains in effect, the lottery lifted the requirement that winners of prizes of $100,000 or more claim their prize in person.

Swing had a choice of an annuity prize paid out as $50,000 a year over 20 years, totaling $1 million, or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum, and after required state and federal tax withholdings, he received $424,509 via electronic funds transfer on Wednesday.

Swing says he will invest some of the money, donate some to charity, and “hold on to a little bit because I like to play the games.”

The $30 ticket launched in April 2019 with four top prizes of $10 million and six $1 million prizes. Two $10 million prizes and one $1 million prize remain to be won.

Players can win prizes instantly, as Swing did, or by entering their $300,000,000 Supreme Riches tickets into second-chance drawings. The drawings offer one $1 million prize, four $10,000 prizes, and 50 $200 prizes. The entry deadline for the remaining third and fourth drawings have not been set.

Ticket sales from games like $300,000,000 Supreme Riches make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how $9.4 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Davidson County, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.