Best of the week: Coastal coworkers' $1 million

Playing the lottery together is fun. Winning $1 million together is great.

Just ask Daniel Richards, Deborah Stewart, John Blanton, and Joseph Romano. The Wilmington-area residents all work at a nuclear inspection company. And, when there's a big jackpot up for grabs, they pool their money to take a chance to win. It paid off in the June 10 Mega Millions drawing when their ticket matched all five white balls to win $1 million.

Another player from Wilmington, Amy Clarke, won $10,000 instantly thanks to a 50X The Cash ticket.

Northeast of the Port City, nestled between Greenville and Washington, North Carolina, is the town of Grimesland. That's where Robin Price won $5,000 on a Platinum 7's ticket.

Even further north - almost in Virginia - Georgia Futrell of Ashoskie won $5,000 playing $300,000 Jackpot.

A cluster of winners in and around the Sandhills region won big this week. John Savage of Four Oaks won $50,000 in the June 4 Powerball drawing. Kelvin Walker of Dunn won the same amount playing 10X the Cash. And J. Jones of Linden scratched off $5,000 on a Platinum 7's ticket.

Leaping over to the Triad, Willie Sanders of Greensboro won $5,000 playing $300,000 Jackpot. And due south in Asheboro, Damian Worcester landed $10,000 on a lucky Ruby Red 7's ticket.

Also in the Piedmont, near the town of Lexington, Linwood resident Lisa Davis scratched off an Ultimate Millions ticket and won $20,000. Just 20 minutes away in Salisbury, William Devoil won $53,000 in the June 7 Cash 5 drawing.

Down in Charlotte a 50X The Cash ticket led to a $5,000 win for Andrew Adair and Charles Bogans won $25,000 on a Gold 7's ticket. Heading north out of the Queen City, three towns just off Interstate 77 are home to recent $10,000 winners: John Hipsky of Huntersville won playing $200 Million Blowout, Christopher Fasano won playing the new Wheel of Fortune game, and Donald Piguerra of Mooresville won on a Platinum 7's ticket.

The second-biggest win of the week belongs to Keith Hollifield of Hickory. He was making a trip to the store to get a Danish for his wife. On his way back, he stopped at the Cubbard Express on Springs Road and picked up a Ruby Red 7's ticket - and became the game's first $100,000 winner. Seven more prizes of $100,000, three prizes of $1 million and three prizes of $4 million are still in the game.

Another big win on a Ruby Red 7's ticket came in the nearby town of Conover. Tina Johnson scratched off $10,000. And not far away in Lenoir, Stewart Harmon won $10,000 of his own playing Diamonds & Dollars.

Last but not least, Thursday's $368,867 Cash 5 jackpot was won by a lucky ticket sold in the small mountain town of Marshall, located about 20 miles north of Asheville. Someone bought the winning ticket at the Ingles on U.S. 25/70.

Thanks for taking a trip across North Carolina with us to cover this week's big winners. You can read about last week's biggest wins - which included 40 wins of $5,000 or more, nine wins of $100,000 or more, and three $1 million wins - here.

Until next time, we hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend. See you soon here in the Lucke-Zone.