James Perkins of Elizabethtown said he always tells people that you have to be “in it to win it,” and his motto paid off after his $30 scratch-off produced a $1 million win.

“People ask me why I keep playing and I tell them, “scared money don’t make money,’” Perkins said.

Perkins, 53, bought his lucky Millionaire Maker ticket from Community Mart on East Broad Street in Elizabethtown. He said after he scratched the ticket at his home and saw he won he immediately called his wife in to check the ticket for him.

“She started hollering so I figured I must have been right,” Perkins said.

When Perkins arrived at lottery headquarters to collect his prize, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump-sum amount of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $426,069.

Perkins said he wants to set aside some of the money for his children’s education.

The Millionaire Maker game launched in March 2021. Perkins became the 30th person to win one of the $1 million prizes.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. Bladen County is receiving $32 million, using money raised by the lottery, to help build a new school. For details on other ways Bladen County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.