Greensboro resident William Coble has dreamed of buying a house for a long time and, after winning a $1 million Mega Millions prize, he can finally make it happen.

“I’ve been saving for a while but I can finally do it now,” he said. “I would like to buy one in the Greensboro area.”

Coble bought his lucky $2 Quick Pick ticket from Sumner Food Mart and Hardware on Old Randleman Road in Greensboro.

“I buy tickets every couple of days because I don’t want to miss a drawing,” he said. “This time it paid off.”

Coble matched the numbers on all five white balls in the Nov. 17 drawing to win his prize. The odds of matching all five white balls are 1 in 12.6 million. He said his mom broke the news to him.

“I had my mom go online to look up the numbers,” Coble recalled. “She told me, ‘Don’t get too excited but I think you won a million dollars.’”

He claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $712,501.

Both the Powerball and the Mega Million games offer big jackpots this week. Tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot stands at $335 million as an annuity or $153.1 million cash. Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot stands at $374 million as an annuity, or $173.5 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million. The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million.

Powerball and Mega Millions are two of six draw games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Lottery players can also now play digital instant games on the lottery website.

During the holiday season, Play Smart, Gift Smart raises awareness that lottery tickets are not appropriate gifts for kids as part of a national gift responsibly campaign. Research shows that the earlier someone participates in or is exposed to gambling, the more likely they are to develop a gambling problem later in life. Check out our blog to learn more.