‘Fantastic’ $1 million prize among best of the week

If you scratched off a $1 million prize, would you have to look at it twice? Danny Langford did. The Gastonia man beat odds of 1 in 1.1 million to win the top prize playing the Color of Money instant game. Langford, an environmental health and safety coordinator, said it felt "absolutely fantastic" to win.

Just north of Gastonia in Catawba County, Meghan Lamberth won the top prize of $150,000 playing the new Green & Gold instant game. The Maiden woman was on her lunch break when she scratched her lucky ticket and, at first, thought she had won $150. “Then I saw the three zeroes and my hand started shaking,” she recalled.

In Wake County, a Cary man won $200,000 playing 20X The Cash. James Deroisier was buying grocers at the Lowe’s Foods on High House Road in Cary when he decided to try his luck on a lottery ticket. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d win something like this,” he said.

A Fayetteville man is the latest player to win $750,000 playing Jumbo Bucks. Alexander Pickle bought the lucky ticket at the Kangaroo Express on Ireland Drive in Fayetteville.

Since Friday is Valentine’s Day, we saved the sweetest story of good luck for last. Shirley and Stanley Davis of Raeford in Hoke County enjoy playing lottery draw games as a couple - they’ve been married for 42 years. After winning $348,078 in the Feb. 9 Carolina Cash 5 drawing, they said the prize money will help them enjoy retirement together. “It’s a nice Valentine’s Day present,” Shirley said.

The $63,141 Carolina Cash 5 jackpot for the Feb. 11 drawing has yet to be claimed. The lucky ticket was sold at the Bearpond Mart on Raleigh Road in Henderson.

Speaking of jackpots, heading into Friday’s Mega Millions drawing, the jackpot annuity stood at $139 million ($76.4 million cash).

Let’s talk Powerball. The jackpot annuity for Saturday’s drawing weighs in at a hefty $330 million ($189 million cash). Frederick Cable of Bryson City won $10,000 in the Feb. 5 Powerball drawing.

Three more $10,000 Powerball prizes are unclaimed. One, for the Feb. 8 drawing, was sold at Gate #414 on South Concord Parkway in Concord. The other two, for the Feb. 12 drawing, were sold on opposite ends of the state - one at the Islander Kwik Mart on Fort Fisher Boulevard in Kure Beach and the other at the Ingles on Hendersonville Road in Fletcher.

As we often do, we wrap up the wrap-up with some more of this week’s biggest instant winners. They are:

• Ray Penland of Hillsborough, who won $10,000 playing $5,000 a Week for Life!
• Travis Pennington of Raleigh, who won $10,000 playing EZ Money
  
• William Rosser of Roanoke Rapids, who won $10,000 playing 50 X The Cash
  
• Bejamin Sadler of Charlotte, who won $10,000 playing $120 Million Cash
  
• Ashley Gore of Whiteville, who won $15,000 playing Bonus Jackpot
  

So there you have it. Until next time, have a fun and safe weekend. See you soon here in the Lucke-Zone.