Knightdale resident Darrell Seawell had no idea how much he won when he arrived at lottery headquarters Tuesday, and he got emotional when he heard he won a $100,000 prize.
“I’m 69 years old and If you’ve never seen an old man cry, I cried,” Seawell said. “It’s a blessing.”
The next thing Seawell did was take out his phone and call his wife, Evelyn.
“He likes to joke around a lot so when he first told me I said, ‘Stop playing,’” she said. “But then I heard him crying and I knew he wasn’t joking.”
Seawell bought his lucky $5,000,000 Ultimate ticket from Mack’s Mart on Knightdale Boulevard in Knightdale.
He arrived Tuesday afternoon to claim his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $71,259.
Seawell said he plans to put his winnings in the bank.
The $5,000,000 Ultimate game debuted in March with five $5 million top prizes and 15 $100,000 prizes. Three $5 million prizes and seven $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.
For details on how $64.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Wake County in 2022, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.