Lucky players win big on seasonal scratch-offs

December 18, 2013 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:09 PM

Since this season’s holiday games started, 35 players have won at least $5,000 – including one lucky winner who scratched off $1 million instantly.

Within one day of the games starting on Nov. 5, the first big prize showed up on the coast. Pamela Coston of Hampstead in Pender County won $5,000 playing Jingle Big Ol’ Bucks. Less than a week later, in the town of Andrews in Cherokee County, Rita Ellis won the same amount playing the same game. The first Jingle Big Ol’ Bucks player to win $100,000 this year was Jerry Lea of Burlington in Alamance County. As of Wednesday morning, that leaves three top prizes of $100,000 still in the game.

The first Holiday Gold win of $10,000 went to Leanord Hipkins of Kannapolis in Cabarrus County on Nov. 12. But the biggest “holiday haul” so far this season belongs to Henry Bunn in Franklin County. The Spring Hope resident won $1 million playing Holiday Gold. That means two top prizes of $1 million remain unclaimed in the game.

We’ve also had our first $50,000 top prize winner in the Mistletoe Bingo game. On Dec. 2, Karen Lunsford of Salisbury came forward to claim her winnings. Two more top prizes and many others are unclaimed as of Wednesday morning.

The lottery’s $1 and $2 holiday games have been lucky, too. Three of four top prizes of $20,000 have already been won in the Winner Green game. Who knows, the fourth and final one could wind up stuffed in a lucky someone’s stocking. And, finally, ten top prizes of $1,000 in the Holiday Cash game are still out there somewhere.

Lucke-Zone members: Don’t forget that, through Jan. 1, 2014, you get triple the Lucke-Rewards points on all non-winning tickets for the holiday games.

Merry scratching and good luck!

42 COMMENTS

9/27/2014 06:13 - Bryant M.

@ DBOYS2014 :) bit late but YES... the geolocation thing sucks!! seriously you mean you couldn't have told me i couldn't play BEFORE you took my money? I love how the FAQ says it so elegantly "just try a different location" UM HELLO what do you want me to do pick up my house and move my house to a new location? If i'm going to do that every time i may as well just go stop by a local store. Had so much hope for this service...... Big let down.

12/30/2013 12:08 - NC Lottery

@ ANGELA - Typically the lottery begins e-mail notification of winners in Lucke-Rewards and game-specific second-chance drawings within 48 hours of the drawing. If we don't hear back, we proceed to telephone and certified mail if necessary. We can only announce a winner's name after he or she responds to notification AND completes the claim process :-)

12/30/2013 12:04 - NC Lottery

@ PLAYER (CLAYTRO) - Thanks for the suggestion; as time goes on, the lottery will continue to do its best to add convenience features that players like :-)

12/29/2013 10:05 - Darlene E.

Please for 2014 come out with some New Scratch Tickets.Some of these are the same ones with different names. Need New Games this is getting old...Repeating number..OMG

12/29/2013 08:52 - Robert C.

It'd be great if there was a "scan" capability to enter the 2nd chance drawings as opposed to typing in al of those letters/numbers :-)

12/28/2013 11:00 - george r.

im still waiting for an answer to my last comment

12/27/2013 03:54 - angela c.

how are you notified if you have won?

12/26/2013 10:53 - Mary T.

well my pick 4 came and i did not play .but am praying that i hit the big bucks someday their just some many people need help that i can help along the way. am still trying .good luck everyone

12/24/2013 01:02 - Douglas M.

If u entered the numbers correctly 4 times and it is still not accepted then it must be a winner.

12/24/2013 08:23 - Roger K.

ianmix001, u must have won on that ticket! I had one to do that to me before, got to looking real close and it was a winning ticket! Once you buy it, it's yours.

12/23/2013 09:59 - Van D.

@ PLAYER (IANMIX001) Sorry you had a bad experience. Have you called our help line? If not, please call 1 (855) 767-1863 and see if they can help you get those tickets entered for a drawing.

12/22/2013 11:03 - Ian S.

Used the 10$ monopoly scratch off for the second chance drawing advertised on the site. I entered all the numbers correctly 4 times and. It come back not recognized. Id'd like my money back please. I can't find any where else to register my complaint. I can promise this won't go away.

12/21/2013 10:33 - carolyn b.

WE HAD 2 MORE PEOPLE DROP OUT OF OUR LOTTERY POOL AFTER THE CHANGES TO MM...WE USE TO PLAY MM & PB..WE PLAY MM NOW LOL ITS ONLY 1.00.......MY FAVORITE IS WIN 4 LIFE DRAW GAME IN VA....I KEEP MY FINGERS XXXXXX THAT IT WILL COME TO OUR GREAT STATE !!!!

12/21/2013 05:42 - SANDON E.

is anyone else having problems with their geo location on the subscription service

12/20/2013 01:17 - shaquanda w.

I have been playing and losing for a year even been entering them online I even pick up lottery tickets that people throw on the ground and enter them in. Still haven't won anything and played tons of games so i think its best to stop playing cause I'm not winning nothing.

12/20/2013 12:45 - Herman S.

Happy Holidays everyone, For those of us who were not able to reap some rewards in 2013 keep the faith as 2014 will be great year. I'm certain NCEL and Lucke Rewards have some big surprises in store for us in 2014. On a final note, win or lose I did enjoy all the excitment playing the NC games and second chance drawings. See ya in 2014.

12/20/2013 10:16 - Roger K.

Wel,Well What you know! Cash 5 last night had 3 of my numbers in a row on two different lines. Won 4 dollars each!! Pay 4 bucks for the ticket and win 8 dollars! Just need to other two numbers and I would have won the CASH 5. I just needed the number 27 and the number 28 to win it all! But someone else won the money! 141,000 dollars would have been nice to have this morning! Gosh!! Why can't I hit it!! I have come so close all the time!! Just missing the rest of the numbers! O well, will just have to wait for my turn and it's a coming folks! It's a coming!! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TOO!! Good Luck for the rest of the year!!

12/20/2013 09:27 - NC Lottery

@ TASORRELL - The lottery does not announce a Lucke-Rewards winner's name until he or she has responded to the lottery's notification AND completed the claim process.

12/20/2013 07:27 - Elisabeth W.

Just love to play these games! Hope to win big soon!! I would like to see better odds of winning on the scratch off tickets and we need our own state lotto game.

12/20/2013 01:20 - lewis b.

It's soon coming for all of us

12/19/2013 07:37 - Leonard P.

I can't imagine what I would have done with the 600 plus millions on the Tuesday drawing, but helping my fellow man would have been at the top of the list. Good luck to all!

12/19/2013 07:28 - Tiffany A. S.

Does the certification process include contacting and verification of winner or after drawing is the Winners name listed so that the winner may use this as a way of seeing if they have won?

12/19/2013 03:24 - Clementine T.

Merry Xmas To ALL! May God Continue To Bless each and everyone of us. God Bless

12/19/2013 12:49 - REGINA B.

It sure would do me good to have a winning game this holiday. Thanking you in advance LORD AMEN.RB

12/19/2013 12:20 - NC Lottery

@ PLAYER (LEED57) - Sounds like your mom was a true North Carolinian. Best wishes to you & your family.

12/19/2013 12:06 - Sandra Y L.

Been scratching for a while,won $500 a few times.Now i'm waiting on a big win.Want to help my children.Good luck to us all!!!

12/19/2013 11:47 - charles d.

I've been down for a while my mom passed on the 11th of November and buried on the 15th. My mom and i talked about TAR HEELS,FRIED TURKEY,AND LOTTERY. MY wife's birthday was DECEMBER 15TH 2013 IS NOT OVER, I'M STILL ON WATCH FOR EVERYONE WHO IS STILL WAITING INCLUDING ME, THE STARS WILL LINE UP FOR US

12/19/2013 10:59 - NC Lottery

@ PLAYER (BJEANK) - It has happened before. It would take a lot of research for us to examine exactly how often it has happened, so if you'd like a full report you can submit a formal request, but just an example would be this blog we wrote earlier this year: http://bit.ly/1gIuT6m

12/19/2013 08:57 - Betty K.

Have anyone won more than once on the second chance.I know you said you can win only once on a single drawing. But you can win on a different drawing.If so how many people won more than once.Just wondering.

12/19/2013 08:28 - judy y.

it would be real nice to win before the new year,,congrats to all winners...

12/19/2013 06:49 - Roger K.

Congrats to all the winners! I went yesterday and broke bad and bought myself a HOLIDAY GOLD ticket. I said 10 dollars to lose, don't set well for me, but I said what the heck! This is the 1st 10 dollars ticket I have purchased in a very, very long time. Ticket number 26, I said that's near the end of the roll! Well, when I finished scratching it, I saw where I won 20 dollars on it!13 was the lucky winning number for the 20 dollar win!! I said to myself, at least I didn't lose on it! I'm glad I won my money back and 10 dollars to boot!! Just wished it could have been the big one, but my turn is a coming soon I hope! Merry Christmas to all of you and Good Luck playing! P.S: Congrats to Ira Curry for winning half of the MEGA MILLIONS on Tuesday! Lucky birthday numbers you won with, I play my birthday numbers too! Mine was close to your numbers, just a few numbers away from each number. But as luck would have it, yours was the pick! Spend it wisely!

12/18/2013 11:15 - diane s.

Congrats t o all...looking forward to my name joining this winning streak!!!!

12/18/2013 10:31 - Candice W.

One day it will happen!

12/18/2013 10:17 - nina h.

me 2!!!! :)

12/18/2013 09:54 - lee v.

i will stay positive. about winning one day. I tend to doubt that I will ever win.

12/18/2013 08:54 - James R.

Congrats to ALL that won! I know my day is coming- from a scratch-off, even from 1 of these drawings... some kind of luck...I feel it! (I keep my fingers crossed). Well again, congrats & good luck to all of us!

12/18/2013 07:26 - Pamela C.

I scratched off hundreds of tickets, one day I hope I will win big, very hopeful.

12/18/2013 07:06 - Warren C.

I would love to win big. If I when big one day I will look forward to being a blessing to many people. Especially children.

12/18/2013 06:51 - Kim C.

PLEASE JUST ONCE LET ME BE THE WINNER!...JUST ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF DEBT. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR FAVOR! I PROMISE TO PAY IT FORWARD!

12/18/2013 06:38 - jerry p.

I,am glad they ran the article now I know what to buy during the holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big or Small

12/18/2013 04:47 - Ronald C.

One day i might be the lucky one. I will share it with my kids, grand and great grand kids.

12/18/2013 04:32 - carolyn b.

I HOPE TO WIN BIG 1 DAY .....WHEN OTHERS WIN I JUST SAY GOOD FOR THEM THEY NEEDED IT MORE THEN I DID ......MY DAY WILL COME WHEN I LEAST EXPECT IT IF ITS GODS WILL FOR ME....GL TO ALL.....

Lucky players win big on seasonal scratch-offs

December 18, 2013 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:09 PM

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