Maximum Green: $1 million prize headlines week’s wins

March 2, 2012 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:06 PM

What would you do if you won $1 million? Ronald Lunsford, a painter from Kings Mountain, says he’s going to use his $1 million Maximum Green prize to pay of his mortgage and save for retirement. “I scratched it off in my truck,” he said. “I knew it was a million, but really had to wait until I got home to my wife to let her look at it.”

Lunsford was not the only Cleveland County player to have large luck lately. The second biggest prize awarded this week was the $356,638 Cash 5 jackpot won by Shelby resident Chris Ensley. “You never expect it to happen to you,” he said as he claimed his winnings. “This is life-changing, that’s for sure.”

A team of ten co-workers in Hickory won $250,000 playing Mega Millions. You can watch a short YouTube video of two of “The MDI 10” group members tell the story of how they played – and won – together.

Our second top prize winner in the Ultimate Fan game, officially licensed by NASCAR®, is a racing fan from Stokes County. You don’t want to miss watching this short YouTube video of Cheryl Higgins talk about how her winning ticket almost got away from her!

A Raleigh woman says she might be beach-bound to vacation with her dog after winning $100,000 instantly. “I always thought I would win, but I’m still in disbelief,” Kerry Denning said as she received her check. “It’s real and I’m very happy. This money will give me more choices in life.”

Before we look at who else won big prizes this week, let’s check in on this weekend’s jackpots. Heading into Friday night, the Mega Millions jackpot is on a roll at $108 million. At $163,000 for Friday’s drawing, the Carolina Cash 5 jackpot has been rolling, too. Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is up $10 million to $50 million for Saturday’s drawing.

A total of four tickets won between $10,000 and $40,000 in Mega Millions and Powerball drawings since last week’s update. Both Mega Millions tickets were sold in Cumberland County. A $40,000-winning Powerball ticket was sold in Henderson, while a Powerball player from Asheville collected a $10,000 prize.

Players from all over the state won instant prizes of $10,000 or more. Wins at the $10,000 level went to players from Chapel Hill, Madison, New Bern, and Raleigh. A $20,000 prize in the Sterling Silver game went to a player from Shelby. A Burlington player is the first to catch $25,000 in the new Bass Pro Shops® Cash Adventure game. A Crossword Cash Multiplier ticket spelled $30,000 for a player from Dunn. And a player from McColl, S.C. won $70,000 here in North Carolina on a Sapphire Blue 7’s ticket.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend, and that you’ll join us here in the Lucke-Zone next week for more news about big winners.

45 COMMENTS

3/20/2012 11:41 - NC Lottery

@ GIZMO - When a game is reordered, the entire game is reordered from the top down.

3/20/2012 11:41 - NC Lottery

@ MACMILLION - There's no "releasing" of the top prizes. Random distribution takes care of that. This is the way lottery games work anywhere you play them, not just in North Carolina.

3/20/2012 01:37 - christopher f.

Macmillion, thanks for answering my question...I do realize though that the big money on instant games comes mostly in increments over time..I should have clarified myself and said the prizes of, let's say 500, 1000 or so are hard to come by it seems...It's nice though to see more prizes under 600 offered up by some games to avoid the taxes possibly?..Also, when a game is reordered such as the $10 jumbo bucks, does that mean all the prizes are restored? The big prizes? etc..

3/18/2012 06:34 - jonathan p.

I think the lucke-zone is missing the point i was making earlier. If you have a million dollar prize, it should be paid off as that before taxes, not as a lump sum or as an annuity.Like I said before, it doesn't take the lottery 20 yrs to collect the money so why do the winners have to make a chose.

3/14/2012 09:11 - Donnell G.

Gizmo...to answer your question, they have to sell lots of losing tickets to pay for payouts. Sit back, those top prizes are still in the warehouse and will be released when their pockets are good and full. You would not expect them to release all the top prizes at one time, would you???

3/14/2012 09:43 - NC Lottery

@ GIZMO - As long as there's a top prize still out there for a scratch-off game, there are still other prizes out there too, and games usually stay active until the last top prize is won. Some games, like the Bucks Family, are constantly re-ordered and are always in stores.

3/14/2012 12:31 - christopher f.

It is somewhat amusing to read these posts at times..actually i get some good laughs really! Playing the lottery is all about chance, luck, etc..It's all in the numbers on the cards folks!! Trust me, you will see a pattern over time if you play long enough to see what i'm talking about...I do have a question though lucke-zone that i hope you can answer. Why is there is there $10 games still out there from 2009,2010? While there is still two top prizes left on both, you would think most of the prizes should or would have been gobbled up by now?? I would love to see some more new $10 games and please retire the red hot milllions already!!! Boring game and very hard to win anything on it...Gizmo :)

3/12/2012 10:52 - NC Lottery

@ TRACY - We appreciate you taking time to comment about this. There are new content features in the works for the Lucke-Zone, so maybe you'll see a new poll question there, or maybe something new altogether! :-)

3/09/2012 05:45 - gwendolyn w.

Me too, I was really happy for her.

3/09/2012 10:19 - Tracy C.

Change the poll question on the home page! It has been up there for MONTHS.

3/08/2012 07:22 - Barbara K.

I was just tickled pink to see a 81 year old little lady win all that money

3/08/2012 10:56 - Michael R.

I started to create a post yesterday saying " I bet the Power Ball winner comes from Rhode Island in tonight's drawing after the buzz of the 81 year old winner from Rhode Island", and sure enough, the 60 million dollar winner came from Rhode Island(again) last night. LOL

3/08/2012 12:27 - Jesse S.

Yep!!!!!!

3/07/2012 08:37 - adam t.

zzzzzzz

3/07/2012 08:24 - Trumel P.

when i play in SC. seem like i break even or win $10 or $20 when i buy 3 or more scratch offs in a row (same game)... but not in NC. seem like its more i loose more here.. it should be more $10, $20 winners to break even... seem like NC. have more dummie scratch off cards... true? I bought 4 $10 scratch off cards (same game) in Charlotte NC. and all of them where dummie cards... !

3/07/2012 05:19 - NC Lottery

@ BK - We're glad to hear you enjoy playing the lottery and wish you the best of luck.

3/07/2012 05:18 - NC Lottery

@ MEMA2003 - We had a $1 million scratch-off winner from Durham less than a month ago: http://bit.ly/xcXD08

3/07/2012 10:11 - gwendolyn w.

I agree to disagree. I do not understand the language of the lottery. However, I do find it hard to understand why Durham does not have many large scratch of winners.Correct me if I am wrong.

3/07/2012 09:11 - Barbara K.

I am sorry,I misunderstood,I thought this was a blog for everyone that played the lottery.Lucke-Zone you did not answer my question as I ask about the Youngsville 2012 winners.I do like to play the lottery ,I just do not understand why the winners are always in the same areas.Brodie,if you are tired I suggest you go take a nap as I am 60 and a lot more tired than you relize.

3/06/2012 09:17 - adam t.

Nice answer answer luck-zone, the haters are getting tiresome,they just dont get it.

3/06/2012 03:57 - NC Lottery

@ BK - But let's look at the $27.3 million that Franklin County players won through June 30, 2011 - that figure is equal to .78% of all the prizes won by players in North Carolina. So Franklin County players have actually won a larger amount of prizes given the size of the population and number of retailers in the county. Ten years ago, less than 1,000 people lived in Youngsville. Anybody over the age of 18 who buys a lottery ticket in Youngsville has the exact same chance of winning as someone in another small town, or in a big place like Charlotte. It's all a matter of luck. Places with more people, more stores, and more winners over time also have more non-winning tickets, too. If you enjoy playing games of chance for fun, we are glad; if you don't enjoy playing games of chance for fun, we wish you the best with another form of entertainment.

3/06/2012 03:57 - NC Lottery

@ BK - We give you a lot of credit for your persistence :-) Here's the thing about random luck - it plays out over time. So let's take a look at Franklin County, where (as you know) Youngsville is located. Looking at the 2009 census estimates, less than one percent of North Carolinians - .64% - lived in all of Franklin County. Now let's look at how many lottery retailers are in Franklin County. Of the 7,341 active retailers on June 30, 2011, 49 of them were in Franklin County, equal to .67% of all lottery retailers. So if lottery games are fair to players everywhere - given that the odds of winning play out over time - you'd expect less than one percent of all lottery winners to come from Franklin County, right? Of course, random luck makes the odds vary from place to place.

3/06/2012 02:40 - Barbara K.

How many winners in Youngsville in 2012? This one will be funny_________________

3/05/2012 09:20 - clara m.

2012 is my year.

3/05/2012 05:17 - NC Lottery

@ GRASSHOPPER - The lottery does not have a stake in whether or not a person chooses the lump sum or annuity prize. It's the same story with the Powerball & Mega Millions jackpots. Straight ahead, we hope that folks choose the option that will work best for their life. When given the option between a lump sum and an annuity, many players still choose the annuity.

3/05/2012 03:54 - jonathan p.

But , by offering people a "choice", you are hoping that they will take the quick cash so you will not have to pay out the "advertised"prize amount. It sure doesn't take the lottery 20 yrs to collect the money.

3/05/2012 01:01 - NC Lottery

@ GIZMO - On average, scratch-off games actually pay out at a higher percentage than they did three years ago. Both the average daily prize payout and annual total to the state have gone up each year for five years.. it takes luck to win - we wish you the best of it!

3/05/2012 11:31 - christopher f.

Is it just me or does everyone feel somewhat like me? the amount of winning scratch off tickets have declined a lot over the past three years? It's almost predictable at times really. If there were more winning tickets of more than $10 i can surely bet that more people would buy them thus generate a whole lot more money for the state, etc...Playing here just is not the same as it used to be. :(

3/05/2012 10:59 - Roger K.

hey! won 15.00 bucks on maximum green,still waiting on the right ticket...

3/05/2012 10:35 - NC Lottery

@ GRASSHOPPER - By definition, giving someone a choice is not making them do anything. We recommend that players learn about the lottery games they may want to play, all the information is available.

3/05/2012 10:34 - NC Lottery

@ LUCKMAN - Sometime down the road, N.C. might get a six-ball lottery game just for our state. For now, we've got Carolina Cash 5!

3/05/2012 10:27 - NC Lottery

@ RASTA - Where winning tickets show up is all random and varies from week to week. Just since January 1, on instant games alone, Mecklenburg players have won nine prizes of $5,000 or more including two $200,000 wins to players from Charlotte. In January, a Charlotte player collectd a $65,430 Cash 5 jackpot. Also just since January 1, three Powerball players have won $10,000 or more. Through June 30 of last year, Mecklenburg players won more than $215.5 million in lottery prizes. We wish you the best of luck on your next ticket!

3/05/2012 10:23 - NC Lottery

@ REDBIRD - Just on instant games, there have been 48 winners of $5,000 or more from Lincoln County, many of which are from Lincolnton. The two largest instant prizes ever awarded to Lincolnton players are prizes of $500,000 on April 25, 2011 and $750,000 on Dec. 13, 2010. Of the six Cash 5 jackpots won by Lincoln County players, three of them - $69,555, $390,444, and $566,885 - went to folks from Lincolnton. Nine Powerball prizes of $10,000 or more have gone to Lincoln players. The largest, $1 million, went to a player from Vale in April of last year. Less a month ago, another player from Vale won $10,000 playing Powerball.

3/04/2012 10:49 - cynthia g.

I REALLY HOPE THAT I HIT BIG REAL SOON. I KNOW IT'S COMING!!! CAN'T WAIT....

3/04/2012 10:08 - Melba P.

Would like to know are their any winning tickets in Lincolnton NC

3/04/2012 06:49 - Trumel P.

happy for all you guys!!! that hit big...

3/04/2012 11:31 - Andrew F.

ok why cant charlote nc have big winners too something is not right with these tickets that surrounds charlotte we need wining tickets in charlotte thanks

3/03/2012 09:15 - Emily K.

I will love to be a winer

3/03/2012 06:14 - ISSAC B.

I NEED A WIN

3/03/2012 05:09 - lachanda a.

I pray that the next big winner will be me!

3/03/2012 03:32 - Everitt W.

I THINK THE WINS ARE WONDERFUL.MAYBE ONE DAY I COULD GET A PIECE OF THAT HUGE PIE.

3/03/2012 12:19 - adrian r.

We need a NC State loto

3/02/2012 11:13 - Vickie J.

still waiting for my time to come. Haven't hit anything above $100 yet, but I know it coming.

3/02/2012 09:14 - jonathan p.

I don't understand why the lottery has a lump sum opyion. I you win a million dollars, they should pay it out before taxes. You advertise a prize amount, then make people choose between an annuity for 20 long years or lump sum. Pay people what they are playing for.

3/02/2012 07:24 - Barbara W.

Congrats to all winners. I am waiting for my time.

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Maximum Green: $1 million prize headlines week’s wins

March 2, 2012 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:06 PM

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