Top prizes won in holiday games

This year’s holiday instant games produced some nice presents for three lucky North Carolinians.

Shelton Holland, a landscaper from Morrisville, became the biggest lottery winner of the week when he won the first of three $1 million prizes in the new Holiday Millions game. He said the phrase, “Home for the Holidays”, will have special meaning this year because he can now buy his own home. He bought the $10 ticket at the In & Out on Fayetteville Street in Durham.

Roy Davis, a truck driver from Seagrove, won the first top prize in another holiday game, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Two more $75,000 prizes are waiting to be claimed.

And Alvin Parker, a retired vet from Richfield, became the first winner of the $40,000 top prize in the Winter Winnings game. He said he would save the money “for a rainy day.” Three more top prizes are out there to be claimed.

November is a big month for the Carolina Cash 5 game, especially with the Cash 5 $100K Days promotion.

A Raleigh couple, David Nguyen and his wife, Truc Pham, shared the Sunday night Cash 5 jackpot of $216,883. They bought the $1 Quick Pick ticket at Han-Dee Hugo’s on Western Boulevard in Raleigh.

The next night the jackpot started at $100,000, thanks to the Cash 5 $100K Days promotion, and it was won for the second night in a row. Two tickets split the prize. One lucky winner was Jerry Deal of Asheville and the other was Brenda Smith of Clayton. The promotion, which offers a starting jackpot of $100,000 rather than $50,000, continues through Dec. 10.

And Annie Key of Charlotte came in to collect her winnings from the Halloween night Cash 5 jackpot of $200,447. She bought the $1 Quick Pick ticket at the Quik Trip on Sunset Road in Charlotte.

A $200,000 Fat Wallet win for Travis Peterson of Mount Olive means that he and fiancé have the cash to afford their dream wedding. Peterson, a construction worker, bought the $5 ticket at the Five Points Food Mart on U.S. 13 South in Goldsboro.

And a $100,000 win in the $4,000,000 Platinum Payout game means James Rothwell of New Bern can make an investment in his business. He bought the scratch-off ticket at the A & E Stop N Shop on U.S. 17 in Vanceboro. All three top prizes of $4 million, four $1 million prizes, and nine $100,000 prizes remain to be won.

Giving up on lucky numbers changed James Pemberton’s luck in Wednesday’s Powerball drawing. Pemberton, of Candor, tried Quick Pick numbers instead and won $100,000. The $3 Power Play ticket, purchased at the Quik Chek on South Main Street in Candor, matched four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000, but the prize doubled when the 2X multiplier was drawn for Power Play tickets.

No one won Wednesday’s jackpot, however, so tonight’s jackpot has climbed to $258 million with an estimated lump sum of $170.7 million.

Four North Carolinians won $50,000 on scratch-off tickets. The winners were: Sonia Lopez Martinez of Charlotte, Treasure Hunt; Kanetra Jamison of Charlotte, Ultimate Millions; Minh Hguyen of Kill Devil Hills, $200 Million Blockbuster; and Selina Marshall of Advance, $200 Million Blowout.

A $30,000 prize in the Lucky Gems game went to Mark Grimes of Fayetteville.

Seven prizes of $10,000 were won instantly. The winners were:

-    Joseph Glover of Candler, Holiday Riches
-    Nakesha Henderson of Charlotte, Holiday Riches
-    Nicholas Henderson of Shannon, $250,000 Platinum Payout
-    Mary Beaman of Winston-Salem, Ruby Red 7’s
-    Mitch Caudle of Hamptonville, Ruby Red 7’s
-    Jeremy Sims of Edgemoor, S.C., Fat Wallet
-    Bruce Baker of Raleigh, $1,000,000 Bonus Cash

And thirteen prizes of $5,000 were won. Three of the winners were from Charlotte and the others were from Asheboro, Battleboro, Clinton, Dallas, Durham, Fayetteville, Laurinburg, Mooresville, Statesville, and Walnut Cove.

We’re looking forward to seeing who wins the big prizes this week. Good luck, North Carolina.