Charlotte co-workers’ $1 million win tops best this week

June 12, 2015 Posted by NC Lottery at 3:14 PM

Of the $20 million players statewide won this week, the largest win - and the best story - came thanks to a group of co-workers in Charlotte who won $1 million playing Powerball.

The 10 members of the group work at Carpet Discount Warehouse in Charlotte. The owner, Charlie Rush, collects everyone’s money and buys the tickets each week. They came to lottery headquarters Monday to collect their $100,000 shares of the prize money. Some planned to go on vacation, others to save for the future or share with family.

Two players from the small town of Supply in New Brunswick County claimed big prizes. Agusta Varnam scratched off $20,000 on a $1,000,000 Jackpot ticket. And Betty Martin won the $192,955 Carolina Cash 5 jackpot in the June 6 drawing.

Toraie Kennedy of Eagle Springs didn’t win the Mega Millions jackpot, but he did Megaply his way to a $20,000 prize in the May 26 drawing.

Speaking of the “X The Cash” games, five players who won $10,000 instantly claimed their prize money. They are:

- Sheila Everhart of Lexington: (100X The Cash)
- Michael Ferri of Charlotte: (100X The Cash)
- Jesse Mitchell of Cherryville: (100X The Cash)
- Angela Poole of Raleigh: (50X The Cash)
- Deborah Tucker of Durham: (50X The Cash)

Eight more players won $10,000 to $30,000 on scratch-off games. They are:

- Dayana Dominguez of Apex: $10,000 ($120 Million Cash)
- Georgia Alford of Charlotte: $10,000 (White Hot 5’s)
- Jajiba Biswas of Durham: $10,000 ($120 Million Cash)
- Dana Meredith of Garner: $10,000 ($4,000,000 Multiplier Spectacular)
- Linda Hood of Hertford: $10,000 ($5,000 a Week for Life!)
- Tammy Taylor of Reidsville: $20,000 ($1,000,000 Jackpot)
- Johnnie Jones of Warrenton: $10,000 (Trucks & Bucks)
- Angela Marshall of Wilmington: $30,000 (Double Match)

It isn’t even officially summer yet, but it’s shaping up to be a scorcher out there, so don’t take any chances with the heat. Stay hydrated, look out for each other – and your pets! – and see you soon here in the Lucke-Zone.

62 COMMENTS

6/24/2015 09:42 - Robert R.

I was wanting to know why cant you just get rid of the luck e rewards and just let all that money that goes into these second chance drawings be put on the tickets themselves. It would put more winning tickets out there in the field and more chances to win. I'd personally rather have that than putting every ticket I buy into a system for points to have to put into entries. Just my opinion. Please respond if you can. Id really like to understand why this cant be done. Thank you.. NC Lottery
Lucke-Rewards gives players an extra chance at a prize that they wouldn't have otherwise. This is something that our players requested for a long time, and we are happy to be able to provide it. That said, we understand and appreciate your viewpoint and wish you the best of luck.

6/23/2015 05:16 - steven h.

Worst odds ever...have never one more than $100 and that was one time...been playing since games started here...EZ match is a JOKE!

6/20/2015 11:47 - Bill S.

All of Nothing Game. That's the one!

6/19/2015 04:54 - james c.

I have purchased lots of scratch lot tickets and have never won over $100 .When asked about my winning , I reply , win all the time with excellent tickets ,howerever , the payout nearly always at a minimum ( example 50x $10 ticket paying paying only $20 on a 10 times winning ($2*10).I do not understand such a payout .

6/19/2015 04:22 - Andrea B.

I'm a little confused about EZ Match...Wednesday night the winning numbers were... 15,16,17,32,33 I had (15) & (32x2) With EZ Match 15-$10 32-$2 I was happy because I was under the impression that I won at least $14 until the cashier rung it up and it said I only won $3!!! so if your numbers matched the EZ match numbers that doesn't guarantee you win that amount? someone please explain to me so I can better understand.

6/19/2015 11:27 - Chris A.

EZ double days have we seen at least one $1000.00 winner...... Hum.... I know I play everyday and have only seen a $2, $3 winner. Most of my tickets don't even have a $100 as one of the prize to win. People are saving their money and not playing EZ Match.NC Lottery
We've had several $1,000 winners. The numbers and prize amounts you see on your EZ Match play are really just the "story" of whether or not you won, and how much. Just like with an instant scratch-off ticket.

6/18/2015 09:47 - jerry s.

Lol, if the overall odds of winning the "nothing or nothing" game are so good, pray tell me where are all the winners? Almost no top prize winners, and very few second prizes ($500)..I check this game every day on here...thanks for the info.

6/18/2015 07:53 - Reneta M.

I am a $250 pick 3 winner today and I am very thankful. God was on my side today and everyday.

6/17/2015 10:38 - Chris A.

I have news for the lottery people are playing to "WIN" and not playing just to say they played a game, because I have seen a lot of people just scan the barcode and never scratch a single number on the ticket. So, if you think people are playing for fun you are fooling yourself. Plus there a players purchasing a Whole roll at a time, so do you think they are playing for the fun of it?NC Lottery
We know that people who play the lottery would like to win a prize. And it would be awesome if every ticket could win a prize. But prize money comes from non-winning tickets. So we want people to remember that it takes luck to win a prize. Most people who play the lottery play responsibly, and we encourage that.

6/17/2015 08:59 - Vanessa N.

what do it mean that I have a match. and how do I go about getting it .NC Lottery
Not sure what you mean. If you ever have a question, you can call our customer service between 8am and 530pm, Monday-Friday: 877-962-7529

6/17/2015 05:26 - Leslie B.

Ok,ok, please tell me I did enter the last winning $5k for life ticket here on the Zone. If I did, please tell me I can still win it! Please!!!

6/17/2015 04:09 - shannon r.

Fireburns said it perfect..the lottery hopes u throw away winning tickets....I never heard anyone ask to be able to enter winning tickets..it can't be that hard to to make it tell us we just entered a winning ticket...we as players have said our thoughts..the lottery doesn't care. They will never admit they was wrong...people will still buy tickets nc doesn't care

6/17/2015 04:00 - Herman S.

The KING is back looking for a BIG WIN on my favorite pick 3 numbers for June 2015. My vision is seeing 231,751,191 and 404 coming my way in a few days. Cha Ching, Cha Ching will get me a new kitchen sink for my Palace.

6/17/2015 06:48 - Elisabeth W.

we need better odds on all games and obviously, there will be BIGGER SALES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6/17/2015 06:45 - Jerry C.

Congrats to all winners.My turn one day.

6/17/2015 03:39 - Alvin H.

Can we get a cash 5 midday draw and a state only lotto draw game? I don't like all of nothing.NC Lottery
You're a draw game enthusiast! At this time the communications team isn't aware of any plans to add a midday Cash 5, but you *COULD* see a new draw game at some point in the not-too-distant future. Shhh! ;-)

6/17/2015 03:35 - Alvin H.

Are you going to bring back the green ball? A lot of pick-3 players like that promotion.NC Lottery
The Green Ball promotion was fun! Keep an eye out for other draw game promotions coming soon ;-)

6/17/2015 01:45 - Matthew R.

I think winning tickets should not be eligible for 2nd chance drawings. If I was running the Lottery then its a great idea, because a whole hell of a lot of winning tickets are going to get thrown away. it used to be so much fun entering a ticket online and it saying error not recognized letting you know it was a winner. Smart business move! Bad for players. Just a thoughtNC Lottery
We have heard from many players who liked the side benefit of the ticket entry system as a safety net for winning tickets. But our hope is that you and others sincerely enjoy playing the games to find out if you win rather than using the Lucke-Zone to find out. We LOVE awarding prizes because happy players enjoy playing the lottery - that's what's good for business :-)

6/16/2015 09:46 - jerry s.

Wow, the "All or nothing" game is really paying off the top prize winners...oh, wait,,,only 2 or 3 since it started....that`s why I don`t play against "random number picked" games...NC Lottery
We've talked a lot over the years, so as an avid lottery player we think you'll appreciate this information. A big factor in determining the likelihood of the top prize being won in a particular drawing is how many different sets of numbers people have for the drawing. Our guess is that there are a lot of people who play things like all evens/odds, 1-12 or 13-24, etc... which leaves lots of possible combinations unplayed. When we ran the free Quick Pick promotion, it upped the # of tickets out there, thus increasing the chances of having a top prize winner. we're always looking forward to the next one! AON has been popular because the overall odds of winning a prize are pretty good :-)

6/16/2015 07:59 - Star H.

How can you tell which scratch offs give you the more points when scanning them in? Also, why cant we play EZ Match with the Pick 5 Subscription here? Also..I dont get points added to lucky zone for my tickets when I buy them online..why is that?NC Lottery
Draw game tickets are worth between 1X and 10X the price of the ticket. It's randomly assigned. Instant tickets are worth between 1X and 5X the price of the ticket. With regard to EZ Match and Lucke-Rewards... promotions and rewards points via web-based subscription haven't been approved by the Lottery Commission at this time, so you have to go to a retailer to take advantage of those features :-)

6/16/2015 06:30 - NC Lottery

@ QUICK64 - Prize money comes from non-winning tickets. Cutting back on non-winning tickets means cutting back on prizes. At $20 per ticket, it takes 50,000 non-winning tickets to generate enough money to fund a $1 million prize. Most lottery games remain on sale until the top prizes have all been claimed. But if the game has declined in popularity and has sold out to a certain level, plus other games are coming out, sometimes the decision is made to end the game.

6/16/2015 04:45 - Veronica T.

Can different people from the same household have a luck-zone account, and enter tickets and second change drawings?NC Lottery
Yes.

6/16/2015 04:20 - Chris A.

I got a suggestion for the lottery. I know you all say the lottery is a game of "chance". How about you all cut down on the number of losing tickets and give the players a chance. I know unclaimed money goes into new games, but for example that 120 Million $20 still had a one million dollar prize out that no one won and now want get a chance to win, but if you print less tickets and let a game truely sell out, then I feel it will give players a fair "chance", because that winning ticket could still be sitting in the warehouse never release for a player to buy. Like a NBA game someone is going to Win and someone is going to lose, but at the end of the day there will be a winner and they both had a chance to do so. As it stands now that winner is the Lottery. Just saying.

6/16/2015 01:52 - Michelle R.

I'm glad to know someone one in Wilmington I live in Hamp stead congratulations everyone spend it right!

6/16/2015 01:42 - oliVia b.

I am still waiting to see something that I wrote posted. Congrats to all the winners. Hope to be one soon

6/16/2015 01:16 - otto k.

I've noticed that to of the winners in the X THE CASH SECOND CHANCE 6-3-15 HAVE TWO WINNERS TO BE ANNOUCED FOR 50,000 AND 500.00 how can I finf out if I was one of the winnersNC Lottery
Winners in Lucke-Rewards, second-chance and special promotion drawings are typically notified within 48 hours of the date of the drawing. So if you didn't get an e-mail, a phone call or certified mail from the lottery then you were not one of the winners in that drawing.

6/16/2015 09:38 - Linda F.

I would like to win. I am trying to open up a business and it would surely help me get started. Congrats to all the winners. My time will come. I believe what's for me is for me.

6/15/2015 11:20 - Lataishma T.

Just hoping to win something big or small.However the bigger the better! Good luck everyone.

6/15/2015 11:08 - JERRY E.

I've enter over 1800 entries in couple games and won nought. It is rigidNC Lottery
Depending what drawing you enter, there are at least tens of thousands of entries, if not hundreds of thousands or even millions. Each of your entries has the same chance as anyone else, and if you entered 1800 times, you had 1799 more chances than someone who entered once. But it's still a matter of luck who will win!

6/15/2015 05:48 - Debbie F.

Spread the money around more where are more winners.Never any winners in my area and I have been playing for years and years. It's what you call gambling, most people never win!NC Lottery
We aren't sure where you live, but we can guarantee that your ticket has just as good a chance as anybody else's of winning!

6/15/2015 05:03 - Michael R.

NC has the worst lottery of any state. The payouts on the scratch offs suck, then the pick 3 and 4, they bring out the ugliest combination of numbers ever. These are obviously going to be the least paid numbers. This lottery is robbing the players. For a lottery to be successful, it has to give back to the players. It's a fallacy to think people are just playing for fun in giving away their hard earned money. People are playing to win, not for fun.NC Lottery
We award on average $3 million a day in prizes. The fiscal year ends on June 30 and we will have had a record year in prize payout. If you decide to try your luck playing games of chance, we wish you luck!

6/15/2015 08:01 - Elisabeth W.

CONGRATS! We need a big promotion this year! Like 5 $1,000,000.00 PRIZES! THANKS.

6/15/2015 05:59 - Leon S.

Every one is a winner If you PLAY the GAME!!!!CONGRAULATION TO ALL!

6/15/2015 12:33 - alice a.

HOPE THE BEST FOR EVERYONALICE HUNT

6/14/2015 11:53 - Janice L.

Why can't we see what we won when we log in a ticket via luck zone?NC Lottery
We've heard from many players that this is a feature they'd like to see. But it isn't possible for the company who provides our gaming system to update it at this time. It may be something that is available in the future. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy playing the games to see if you win a prize!

6/14/2015 11:51 - willie m.

Congratulations to every winner.Hope I'm one of the next winners.

6/14/2015 08:52 - Erin D.

I still don't see any winners out here in Western NC, west of Asheville! would be nice to see someone from out this way win!

6/14/2015 05:05 - Brandi L.

Congratulations big winners! Hope my big win comes soon.

6/14/2015 04:16 - R W B.

Let's change the subject just a moment. "Lottery picks Mullen Lowe Winston-Salem as new ad agency" I hope they have some better ads than those silly things we have now. Now... I can't figure out why I never win more than a dollar on a Cash 5 ticket. I can buy a fist full of tickets and only one ticket MIGHT match two numbers. I've NEVER matched more than two numbers. That's so messed up.NC Lottery
The overall odds of winning a Cash 5 prize are 1 in 8.8... matching three numbers the odds are 1 in 103, about 12X more difficult to do. Your ticket has the same chance as anybody elses - and we wish you luck!

6/14/2015 01:08 - Scotty W.

Congrats Everyone!! Love to see my name in winners list soon!

6/14/2015 09:41 - Leslie B.

Please tell me I didn't enter the last winning ticket for $5k a week for life on Lucke Zone. I was playing it a lot...

6/14/2015 12:43 - Tony T.

rarely, if ever, see anyone win near the Sanford area, wonder why that is , don't people there buy many tickets?NC Lottery
Folks in Sanford & Lee County win lottery prizes. About 60,000 of the 10 million people in North Carolina live in Lee County. Here is a link to some information about winners in your area: http://bit.ly/1TrHYm6

6/14/2015 12:08 - Brian P.

I quit playing for awhile then came back to get yet more aggravation from gambling. I play pick 3 and pick 4 daily and cant hit anything. I have entered numerous contests yet have never won anything. I cant believe i spend hundreds of dollars to get screwed over again and again. I know how much i spent because i entered all my loser tickets into contests yet never win anything.. I want to win so bad but experience no joy at all. the lottery has to be a scam since I never win anything despite spending huge amounts of money on it.NC Lottery
Sorry to hear about your feelings of frustration. If that is what playing the lottery is like for you, it might be best not to play. The games offer everyone a fair chance to win, but that takes luck. Here is some more information about responsible play: http://bit.ly/1PkgQ6r

6/13/2015 11:32 - FELECIA H.

Waiting on my 2 b on the winners list I believe

6/13/2015 06:53 - charles d.

I cant enter my week for life tickets its reading not reconizedNC Lottery
Anytime you have a technical issue, please click the HELP link at the top of the screen and submit an ONLINE SUPPORT form, or call the technical customer service at 855-767-1863

6/13/2015 06:38 - Jacqueline L.

Congratulations everyone! My time is coming soon...I feel it!

6/13/2015 04:32 - Rose K.

Congrats to all winners. Perfect start to your summer fun time ??

6/13/2015 03:55 - Edward C.

I check my Cash 5 ticket every morning when I wake up.. Its just a matter of time and my numbers will all line up!!!!!

6/13/2015 02:12 - JANICE G.

I am the next big! winner!

6/13/2015 01:02 - Leslie H.

Contragulations winners!!! It good to see folk from Fayetteville win as well. Hopefully, I will be on the winning list. Contragulations winners!!!!

6/13/2015 11:04 - Phyllis R.

I'm wishing myself to win, that's the only way I'm going to win

6/13/2015 09:48 - jason r.

Got a cash 5 slip marked void on first box.filled out my numbers for single drawing when clerk run it it come out for 6 drawings why I still don't know well won nothing for them 6 straight days ..the very next drawing I would have got 3 out of 5..just wondering if this has happened to anyone else

6/13/2015 09:14 - Beulah T.

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE I'M NEXT...i

6/13/2015 03:15 - Darryl W.

Congratulations to all the winners!Its time for the table to turn and i win one.

6/12/2015 10:01 - carolyn b.

WTG 2 GO 2 THE GROUP.....HOPE OUR POOL WINS BIG VERY SOON........GLGL 2 EV1 THAT PLAYS

6/12/2015 09:57 - Angela P.

Congratulations

6/12/2015 08:11 - lisa p.

The lottery is only paying out to bigger winners. You cant win anything on scratchoffs anymore. I wish they would get rid of it. It ruins peoples lives because they spend too much money trying to win something significant. Your odds are far worse than the lottery would have you believe. There ought to be a law against this lottery. Tickets have gotten really bad to where you have to buy 8 or more of the new tickets in a row just to win back $5 or $10. You guys are misleading players and they are on to you!

6/12/2015 07:31 - mary r h.

SOrry no. One in W Salem won.let WS have some big winners.Good luck to all winners.

6/12/2015 06:21 - Cathy A.

I,m trying to win on the second chamce drawings

6/12/2015 05:54 - Leslie B.

Hi---where's the grand announcement for the Winner of the last top prize for the $5,000 a week for life" instant game?NC Lottery
That last top prize hasn't been claimed yet. As soon as it is, we'll announce the winner!

6/12/2015 05:54 - Lawrence B.

I'm happy for these people but here again no one from my little town of laurel hill NC. I really believe that the put the winning tickets in big towns and just a few in the little towns so that nothing is said. Like the truck and buck. The 2 winners r both from Fayetteville nc. Something is not right

6/12/2015 03:42 - vanessa s.

Congrats winners.I hope to see my name in the list for winners soon.

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Charlotte co-workers’ $1 million win tops best this week

June 12, 2015 Posted by NC Lottery at 3:14 PM

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