Carmelo Canepa of Fuquay Varina tried his luck on a $20 scratch-off and won a $2 million prize.
Canepa bought his Platinum ticket from the Circle K on Louisburg Road in Raleigh.
When Canepa arrived at lottery headquarters Tuesday to collect his prize, 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 $855,006.
Platinum debuted in August with four $2 million prizes and eight $100,000 prizes. Two $2 million prizes and four $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.
Ticket sales from lottery games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $64 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Wake County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.