Most people would agree that the best thing about winning the lottery is the prize money. The story of the win is usually a close second. This week, five players who cashed in prizes of $100,000 to $1 million told us what it meant to them to win big.
Frank Castillo of Surry County won $1 million in the July 20 Mega Millions drawing: “I’ve always been a hard-working man and I’ve only played the lottery in moderation,” he said. “I kept playing because I had faith, and now the day has finally come. I’m still pinching myself.” Castillo said he'd use his winnings to pay off his mortgage and auto loans, save for his children's college funds, and start a business.
Another $1 million winner, Sarah Carpenter of Waxhaw in Union County, was one digit away from hitting the Powerball jackpot on July 21: “A million’s enough for me,” she said as she collected her winnings at headquarters. “I’m just so happy I can’t stand it.” Carpenter and her husband said they would share the prize money with their three adult children, give to their church, pay bills, and save the rest.
“We will never forget this day as long as we live,” said Roger Rigney as he watched his wife Pamela collect a $100,000 Carolina Black prize. “I was so excited and completely in disbelief,” said Pamela Rigney. “At first we thought we had won a hundred dollars, but then we saw those zeroes. It still doesn’t seem real. Pinch me. I know this is a dream.” The Rigneys plan to use their winnings to help their family, take a Las Vegas vacation, and save for the future.
Other big winners this week:
- George Johnson, a retired college accounting professor from Greensboro, has played the same set of numbers based on his anniversary and family birthdays since the lottery started. He matched all five white balls in the July 20 Mega Millions drawing to win $250,000.
- Carolina Cash 5 player James Stockton of Salisbury in Rowan County, who won the $303,256 jackpot in the July 7 drawing.
- Froilan Romualdo, an engineer from Fletcher, beat the odds July 25 to win the $91,591 Cash 5 jackpot. He said his winnings will go to savings.
- Continuing with the Cash 5 theme, Fannie Knight of Raleigh won $60,179 in the July 18 drawing after purchasing a ticket at the Spring Forest BP/Fiddlestix on Spring Forest Road.
- Yet another Cash 5 jackpot winner, Benjamin Torain of Fayetteville won $50,000 in the July 22 drawing. he purchased his ticket at the Alco on Cliffdale Road.
Since Thursday, July 19, players have collected more than $10.1 million in prizes from instant games. The following players scratched off big wins since last week's wrap-up:
- Shiming Wang of Jacksonville won $10,000 playing Extreme Green
- Marcellus Turner of Durham won $10,000 playing Cash Spectacular
- Jeffrey Rogerson of Bladenboro won $10,000 playing Super Lucky 7's
- Cynthia Breece of Fuquay-Varina won $10,000 playing 20X the Money
- Billy Gibbs of Manteo won $20,000 playing Royal Riches
- Joseph Gonzales of Middlesex won $30,000 playing Fast Cash Bingo
- Robert Prevatte & Jennifer Smith of Burlington won $50,000 playing Match & Win.
Carolina Pick 3 players won more than $1.7 million in prizes. Carolina Pick 4 players won more than $597,000, including 18 top prizes of $5,000. Carolina Cash 5 players won more than $428,000. In all, the Education Lottery awarded more than $15.5 million in prizes to players of lottery games.
We can't go without mentioning this weekend's multimillion dollar jackpots. Heading into Friday's drawing, the Mega Millions jackpot stands at $52 million and Saturday's Powerball jackpot has rolled to $139 million. We'll be watching with you to find out what happens. Until next time, best of luck, and have a great weekend.
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I hope NC can bring a big win here.
If some one won some money, how can one get the money quietly without such a big public display? Not like the interviews here, but quietly in their own area.