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news blog > article

$864 million in prizes in one year

July 15, 2011 Posted by NC Lottery at 12:24 PM
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Have you ever wondered how much players win playing the lottery in a year? Well, here’s the number: N.C. Education Lottery players won $864 million from July 1 of last year until June 30 of this year. How many of those were wins of $1 million or more, and where are those winners from? Let’s take a look.

The largest number of $1 million wins came playing instant games, 13 to be exact. Winners from Chapel Hill, Marion and Salisbury scored $1 million playing $200 Million Extravaganza, and a Winston-Salem couple won $3 million instantly playing the game. Cash Spectacular players from Thomasville, Leland, Mount Holly and Lexington all scratched off seven-figure instant wins as well. Red Hot Millions players from Franklin and Fayetteville claimed $1 million prizes last month.

Four of the largest wins of the year went to players of $200,000 a Year for Life. A Morrisville man scratched off one of the three top prizes of $200,000 a year for life. Three other players – from Hubert, Winston-Salem and Asheville – each won $50,000 a year for life prizes playing the same game.

Three players’ Cash Splash raffle tickets won them after-tax prize amounts of $1 million each. Those winners are from Newton, Walnut Cove, and Pfafftown.

The same number of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets won $1 million prizes with seven each. Powerball winners from High Point, Whiteville, Gastonia, Vale, Fayetteville, Durham and Lenoir all Power Played their way to $1 million.

Mega Millions players from Ennice, Graham, Oak Ridge, Rocky Mount and Stallings all won $1 million, as well as a player from Marietta, South Carolina. And the biggest prize award of the year went to Greensboro resident Mike Manheim. His Mega Millions ticket matched all six numbers to win a $12 million jackpot prize in the May 28, 2010 drawing. When he claimed his prize last July, it marked the fourth occasion a North Carolinian received a check for a multi-million dollar jackpot.


30 COMMENTS

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8/07/2011 02:35 - NC Lottery

@CHILLX007 The lottery has a responsibility to players like you, and to the state of North Carolina. That is why scratch-off tickets are distributed at random. Sometimes big winning tickets show up at busy stores, sometimes they show up other places. Sometimes big winning tickets show up in big cities, sometimes they show up in small towns. They key is that because it's random, there's no control over where those tickets show up.

8/06/2011 07:52 - Dale B.

When you say the winning is even, why hasn't Wilson County had a big winner on the scatch offs in a while, when we have the #1 lottery selling store in the state of NC.

8/01/2011 11:21 - NC Lottery

@ CEM3 - That is very creative thinking. Quite frankly, never read that suggestion before although other folks here at the lottery may have. There are probably some major logistical or even legal challenges that could stand in the way of such games, but will pass this idea along. Thanks for your comment.

8/01/2011 11:19 - NC Lottery

@ LBROWN - Off topic? We respond to a ton of off topic questions in the Lucke-Zone! So, to your question: other methods of checking winning tickets are absolutely a possibility. We have already rolled out some self-service kiosks to some retail locations, and plan to add more. When there's news on this topic, we'll probably blog about it here in the Lucke-Zone first, so thanks for your question and stay tuned...

7/31/2011 06:45 - Ronnie B.

Why cant there be a game developed for each of the zones? Five Zones, 5 games..One for each zone to give the people in each zone more of a chance to win. Seems more people from Hickory to the east coast are winning far more than us folks in the mountains do. You could have ten $100,000 prizes, 2 for each zone for at least $50,000 4 for each zone......

7/31/2011 06:19 - Leslie B.

Kind of off topic, but will the NCEL ever consider allowing us to check what appear to be loosers on the computer? I'd hate to keep a clerk tied up checking them...

7/29/2011 09:56 - NC Lottery

@ AFRT04 - We know that players enjoy raffles, so it is very likely that the NCEL will introduce them in the future. Right now, there are not any on the calendar. But if you stick with us in the Lucke-Zone, we will let you know before anyone else! :-)

7/29/2011 09:54 - NC Lottery

@ CRUZWILMINGTON - We hear this question a lot. The lottery is all about educuation (and prizes). The key piece of information is this: the lottery has provided $2 billion to education, but did you know that the state education budget is 20 times larger than what the lottery contributes every year? Basically, lottery funds are the only form of revenue that is increasing, and the budget shortfalls are much larger than what the NCEL provides. Lottery money was always meant to be extra money for specific programs, not money that would pay for everything. We have an obligation to offer fair games to players and grow at a steady pace so that we can continue to return more money to education. Thank you for the opportunity to answer this question, we hope you'll share the info with others!

7/28/2011 04:42 - Ryan K.

@cruzwilmington - We do our very best to get the word out about winners, both through the media and other channels such as Facebook, Twitter and the Lucke-Zone. We will continue to look into new ways of spreading the word about big winners throughout the state. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

7/28/2011 03:03 - JEFFREY Y.

Can anyone tell me when another raffle will be? This seems to have the best chances, although all I've won is $500. Many other states have million dollar raffles (including SC) 1 - 2 times per year. Seems to me to be a good way for the lottery to give a better chance for winning to their loyal patrons.

7/28/2011 01:21 - Ryan K.

@lau8kab - We will let you know as soon as it's announced! @DCLIASON - That's a popular request that we are looking into. Thanks for the suggestion!

7/28/2011 09:59 - Blanquita C.

Question 2 The second more heated conversation came from customers angry about teachers losing their jobs. If the NC lottery was all about education, why were so many teachers losing their jobs? It was an interesting conversation. Maybe you could explain the role that the NC lottery plays in helping to retain teachers?

7/28/2011 09:59 - Blanquita C.

There were two interesting questions raised at a gas station in Wilmington as I bought lottery.I wasn't a speaker in the conversation but it was a very interesting conversation held by five customers and the cashier that I stood around to listen. Question 1 It seems like Wilmington is one of the cities where the lottery controls who doesn't win. It is a known fact that gambling institutions can't control who wins but they can control who doesn't win. People jokingly suggested that maybe the lottery was trying to keep the tourists from winning since Wilmington was a tourist town. Joking or not,they seemed very upset about the possible reality of the matter. Keeping Wilmington in the losing pile keeps NC residents that buy lottery in Wilmington in the losing pile. Many people even mentioned that on certain Saturdays they drive all the way out to Raleigh just to buy tickets that have a better chance of winning. I found that interesting. Maybe you should advise people of Wilmington about their winners.

7/28/2011 07:28 - Debbie C.

I wish the NC Lottery site would do like the SC Lottery site and list all the remaining prizes left on the scratch tickets. All NC shows is the number of highest prizes left. SC shows all of the prizes that are left, all the way down to the one dollar prizes.

7/28/2011 05:54 - laura b.

Does anyone know when the fifth drawing is giong to be ?

7/26/2011 06:47 - Terry G.

Davyrt, I am happy to see you have also seen the light. I stoped playing a short while ago and started putting what I would spending a week in a Cigar box. I am now winning $560.00 as of yesterday.Saw $200.00 spent yesterday morning at the coffee shop and the BIG WIN was $7.00. WOW

7/25/2011 12:16 - Reneta M.

Well I have been playing the lottery for a year or so now and I've spent more time losing than winning.I just don't see how the same repeat of pick 3, 4 drawings come out the same twice in one day. Most of the time the numbers I enter or quick pick never win.

7/24/2011 10:35 - Quenzie C.

Waiting on our ship to come on in. I'm not about to jump in the water and meet it though:)Good Luck to all!

7/24/2011 02:08 - NC Lottery

@ DOR.2004 - Thanks for the question. There is not another game with a second chance drawing ready to come out right now, but stay tuned here in the Lucke-Zone - you'll be the first to know when one is coming!

7/23/2011 08:57 - DORIS M.

AFTER THE LAST DRAWING OF THE CURRENT 2rd CHANCE GAME ,IS THERE ANOTHER TO COME OUT VERY SOON? "I LOVE THE NC LOTTERY"!!

7/23/2011 12:54 - Marlene D.

Congratulations to all winners, I'm hoping for a few more million dollar winners to come out of the Raleigh area and I'm one of them. I will continue to play and one day it will be my turn.

7/22/2011 10:08 - NC Lottery

@ DEEP1 - We have had many people from The Triangle, The Triad and Mecklenburg County say the same type of thing, only they say that it seems like the winners are always in OTHER places! The tickets are distributed 100% at random. We've had lots of winners in eastern and western counties. But it is true that if more people live in one place, and there's more playing going on in those places, it would keep with the logic of randomness that you would see wins in those places. The odds are the same no matter where you live. What county do you live in? We can give you specific figures on winners from your part of North Carolina.

7/22/2011 09:48 - Michael R.

Davyrt, I agree with your post and its basically becoming a pipe dream. I'm also convinced that the powers in charge, know where to send the big scratch off winners. They seem to look out for their friends in the Triangle area, the Triad, and Mecklenburg County, while for the most part overlooking Northeastern North Carolina and some of the more western counties. I think if everybody is paying their hard earned money for tickets, then the tickets shouldnt be discriminatory.

7/21/2011 12:20 - NC Lottery

The odds for every game are published, and we spend a good deal of time here in the Lucke Zone and elsewhere reminding folks that there's no guarantee of winning, only a fair chance to win. We want players to play for entertainment. If it's not fun for you, then we appreciate it if you choose not to play.

7/21/2011 02:04 - marqueda g.

Davyrt I like your post

7/18/2011 10:30 - David T.

I think it is very sad that so many people are counting on the lottery to change their lives. It's ok to day dream, it's another thing to count on it. Maybe the lottery officials should spend less time pumping un-real expectations and more time posting the true odds of losing. No one should spend more than $1 to $5 a week on these tickets unless you have a large income, in which case why would you be buying tickets? I for one have stopped buying scratch and lose tickets all together.

7/17/2011 03:51 - Leslie B.

Sweet! I'm still hoping and playing the 200K for Life and the big ones...looking to forward to it. Congrats Winners!

7/16/2011 02:39 - Brenda B.

I think its great! I hope to win big one day. I'd be happy with anything. God bless those who needed it!

7/15/2011 01:14 - Monique R.

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE WHO HAD A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE.

7/15/2011 01:13 - Monique R.

Im happy for everyone that won, Im waiting for the day when my numbers are displayed saying, CONGRADULATIONS! YOUR NUMBERS HAVE HIT FOR LAST NIGHTS DRAWING.i can already express my feelings, its gonna be a great day for my family and friends

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