Rocky Mount woman becomes first $1 million winner of 2018

January 2, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 2:47 PM

Marion Nellum of Rocky Mount, the first $1 million winner of 2018, said her win means her dream of a cross-country train trip can come true.

“I’ve always wanted to take a train trip across the country,” Nellum said. “Now I can!”

Nellum’s good fortune happened when she stopped by the EP Mart on Benvenue Road in Rocky Mount the Saturday before Christmas and bought a $10 Big Money Super Ticket.

“I was feeling sorry for myself because my holiday vacation request got denied,” said Nellum, who works in customer service. “I decided I was going to spoil myself and get a scratch-off ticket”.

When Nellum scratched the ticket, she couldn’t believe it.

“I had to take it home and get the magnifying glass to make sure I was reading it right,” Nellum said.

She claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $417,009.

The $10 game launched in December with four top prizes of $1 million. Two top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from instant games like the Big Money Super Ticket make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for the state. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.

30 COMMENTS

4/04/2018 09:13 - Tamekia B.

Thats a rip off. They took over half her winning back! These taxes are ridiculous!!! NC Lottery
Hi Tameikia- We only take out the minimum amount of taxes. This winner took the lump sum option of $600,000. We then take the taxes from that amount.

1/20/2018 06:51 - John F.

If y’all people believe tickets are random them y’all are dumb!!Can’t be random if humans print and package them..They know which store the winner is sent to.It’s not random or by largest number of tickets sold from stores.It’s done by humans showing favoritism to certain areas.NC Lottery
Hi John, During the secure printing process, winning tickets are distributed at random throughout the entire printing run of each game. Then they're divided up into packs and the inventory is stored securely before being distributed to retailers by the lottery's sales staff. Where a winning ticket might show up is a complete mystery until a lucky player scratches one off.

1/08/2018 08:15 - DeCarla C.

Congrats on ur win but anyone in Salisbury every goin to win NC Lottery
Hi there, Decarla. We have had plenty of winners from Salisbury! Just type: site:nclottery.com "salisbury" into your browser, and you will see all of the wins. We even have had a $1,000 A Day For Life win from Salisbury!

1/07/2018 08:09 - Sanjay B.

is there a way that we can buy online scratch ticket as we will not reach each store to buy a ticket. Please advice. NC Lottery
Hi there, Sanjay. Unfortunately you cannot buy scratch-offs online. Thanks Sanjay

1/06/2018 08:34 - valerie b.

You get more money when you win the 750,000 dollars. After taxes is 500,000 they take all your winnings when you win a million. NC Lottery
HI there, Valerie. Million dollar winners always have the option of the lump sum or annuity that us paid out over 20 years. The lump sum option is $600,000. All income us subject to taxes, so we withhold the minimum amount.

1/06/2018 12:30 - Towanda S.

Congrats to u..I'm sure it was well deserved...hlad to see someone from my hometown wins... enjoy ur train trip..lol??????????????????????

1/05/2018 07:37 - Frankie S.

Congratulations. One of these days, it is going to be me blessed with winning a million dollars,

1/05/2018 12:42 - olin s.

I would like to see the end of BREAK even tickets,,,,and a reduction in second chance monies, and more of that money back in the instant scratch offs....just seems that is how it was suppose to be.....CONGRATS to the winners..... NC Lottery
Thanks for the feedback. The lottery is designing new instant games all the time so your point of view is helpful to us.

1/04/2018 10:10 - ada W.

Congratulations:Wow I hope someday it will be me. Enjoy it!????

1/04/2018 01:33 - Mike S.

Cheers to you!

1/04/2018 10:09 - Mike S.

Have too much New Year Cheer? On the entry page is says "Welcome 2018 with a change to win $18,000!" I'd rather have a chance to win myself. NC Lottery
Thanks, Mike S. Just reported it so typo should be fixed soon. We'll cut back on the Cheer!

1/04/2018 07:24 - carolyn b.

CAN WE PLEASE DO A 20 DOLLAR RAFFLE AGAIN...VA HAS THEM EVERY YEAR... NC Lottery
Thanks for suggestion, Carolyn. Glad you like raffles. They weren't as popular in NC as they are in Virginia. But raffles are usually on the list of games that we discuss when we plan new ones. So stay tuned.

1/04/2018 07:12 - Marjorie L.

Congrats woot woot!!!

1/04/2018 05:44 - Srinivasarao C.

Scratch off tickets should not be sold if there are no big prizes left.I always see those tickets will be sold still in store when there are no big prizes left.Buying the lottery for small prizes is not fair at all.And there is no way to track what the prizes left on scratch off tickets NC Lottery
In most cases, the lottery does end an instant game when all top prizes are won. But it can take awhile to pick up all the tickets from all retail locations. There are about 6,800 locations in the state. The lottery does provide a way for players to see what prizes at what levels remain in each game. The information is updated daily. Please check out the Prizes Remaining tab on our Scratch-Off web pages here. https://www.nclottery.com/ScratchOffPrizes

1/04/2018 05:41 - Srinivasarao C.

I always see scratchoff winners outside of Charlotte NC.I didn't see any winner in Charlotte.I don't know why NC Lottery
Charlotte folks certainly have their share of luck. Here a story of a recent Charlotte winner. http://bit.ly/2CVIUwx You can keep up with wins on the Winners page https://nclottery.com/Winners and through our blog posts.

1/04/2018 03:18 - Linda R.

Congrats

1/03/2018 11:44 - Kashela D.

Congratulations on your new found wealth. May you and your family continue to be blessed.?

1/03/2018 09:13 - Gregory F.

Why could there no big winners ln Ahoskie people are buying tickets like crazy and wi.nine nothing including myself can't win any thin the lottery is getting rich taken avadvantage of people trying to get ahead. Congratulations to all the winners. P NC Lottery
Hey, Gregory. Lottery tickets are distributed randomly across the state. All the money raised by the lottery after paying prizes and expenses goes to support education programs in our state.

1/03/2018 07:08 - Perry J.

Congrats wishing you the best

1/03/2018 05:06 - Michelle D.

Congratulations!!! Enjoy your train ride.... What a wonderful Christmas Present!

1/03/2018 03:08 - Malika W.

Congrats, BUT OHIO lottery I miss it so much and if you win 1 million you will take home 6hundred thousand payout

1/03/2018 07:58 - Marcie G.

Congrats :)

1/03/2018 07:29 - Shawn C.

Good day everyone, I normally don't leave an comment but today this isn't making any since. Maybe someone can shed some light on this situation. Now the Big Ticket has 4 top prizes and this story says that she was the first to will the million on the game. Why is it that there are 2 prizes remaining not 3? Just want to know where were the other million won? But congrats to the winner above! NC Lottery
Hey, Shawn. The winner was not our first $1 million Big Money Super Ticket winner. She was the first to win $1 million in the New Year. Sorry if that confused you. We have had two of the top prizes claimed now in that game and two more $1 million prizes remain to be claimed. Good luck.

1/03/2018 06:08 - Patty U.

It's a shame to win a million and not even get half of it. I'm sure she is very thankful but shame on the lottery. If you win a million dollars you should get a million! There's no discount when you purchase tickets. NC Lottery
Good morning, Patty. The winner has a choice: $50,000 a year for 20 years = $1 million, or a lump sum today of $600,000. The lottery used to only provide $1 million prizes in instant game as annuities. But players asked for the choice and we decided to provide that choice. The option lets folks decide what is best for them. The lottery is required by law to withhold taxes, 25 percent for federal taxes and 5.499 for state taxes. Just like with a paycheck, the withholding helps you handle the taxes due on your income.

1/02/2018 10:20 - Alana B.

Congrats, once again, to someone who lives in a 100-150 mile radius of Raleigh.go back through winners over the last year and it’s rather clear where big winner tickets land. All good. Lottery will say “totally random” and “larger number of ticket sales increases odds for tickets to be distributed into places and with that large volume makes it more likely—but we stand by our claim, as always, it’s totally random and could happen anywhere.” Ok, but it sure does happen in certain geographical locations more than others. Anyone else find this strange?

1/02/2018 08:56 - emma w.

Congratulations

1/02/2018 07:12 - Derek S.

Congratulations to the winner; to the NC State Lottery. Are any of these winning tickets in Winston Salem/Clemons NC Area. NC Lottery
Sure. Big wins occur all across the state. Here's a story of a Winston-Salem woman who won $1 million in the 50X The Cash game. http://bit.ly/2CApIXS

1/02/2018 06:36 - Edith A.

Congratulations! Gonna be me someday.

1/02/2018 05:54 - Lisa W.

Congrats!

1/02/2018 04:21 - judy w.

Congratulations

Win up to $1,000,000 every 4 minutes

Big Thrills Served Fast.

Progressive Jackpot Estimate

Rocky Mount woman becomes first $1 million winner of 2018

January 2, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 2:47 PM

Helpful Links

Get the Mobile App

No Longer Just a Game? There's Help