Chadwick Denton of Henderson said the chances of stopping for a rest break on his truck route and buying a lottery ticket that wins you $2 million must be a “once-in-a-lifetime type of thing.”

“Even now, I’m still in shock,” Denton said. “You don’t win $2 million every day.”

Denton, a 44-year-old dump truck driver, bought his lucky $20 100X The Cash ticket from Best Bet BP on Oine Road in Norlina. Denton said when he started scratching and saw the letters “mil” on his ticket, he realized he won the big one.

“I’ll be honest with you if the door had been open I probably would’ve fell out,” Denton laughed. “That’s how hard it hit me.”

Denton said he still can’t really believe how much he won.

“That’s like a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing,” Denton said.

When Denton arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to collect his prize, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $100,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $1.2 million. He chose the lump-sum amount of $1.2 million and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $851,755.

Denton said he wants to use the prize money to buy a new home for his wife and children.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $2.4 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Vance County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.