$255,555 lottery win will help Cleveland County man with retirement

January 5, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:50 PM

Stephen Woods of Shelby says a $255,555 lottery win is going to help him retire.

“We’re about seven years away from retirement,” said Woods, who manufactures truck parts for a living. “This will be really nice to have.”

Woods’ good luck happened when he asked his wife to get him a scratch-off ticket. She stopped by Southern Store on South Lafayette Street in Shelby and bought a $5 Fantastic 5’s ticket. Instead of waiting for Woods to get home, she scratched the ticket herself.

“She called me at work after she did,” Woods said. “At first, I thought someone had died because of how frantic she was.”

Once he realized what his wife was saying, he couldn’t believe it. “I had to check the ticket for myself when I got home,” Woods said.

He claimed the prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $177,614.

Woods is the first player to win the top prize of $255,555. Three top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from instant games like Fantastic 5’s make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education.

Congratulations Stephen!

15 COMMENTS

1/08/2018 09:57 - Ivy C.

[2 of 2] Additionally, Mega Millions is a multi-state game. One set of numbers is drawn every Tuesday and Friday, with players from 44 states and the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands trying to match the numbers and win a prize. If you do not want to play a multi-state jackpot game, we also offer Cash 5. That's the NC Lottery's jackpot game and only North Carolina players can play. In addition to the two $10,000 wins on Friday, here are some recent Mega Millions wins: There are nine ways to win on a Mega Millions ticket. Players in North Carolina regularly win other large prizes. Here are some recent wins.$20,000 ticket: Raceway on Brookshire Freeway in Charlotte (12/29) $10,000 ticket: BP on Shearers Rd in Mooresville (12/26) $20,000 ticket: Publix on Rose Commons Dr in Huntersville (12/12)

1/08/2018 09:57 - Ivy C.

[1 of 2] Hi, Linda. Thanks for reaching out! Hopefully this will help clarify. You addressed a few separate topics in your comments. We will try to address them all here. No, there is not currently a Lottery Commission member from Rocky Mount. You can read more about the lottery's appointed commission here: https://www.nclottery.com/Commission. Unfortunately, there will always be people trying to beat the system. But we have a strict security process in place for both the selling of lottery tickets and the claiming of lottery tickets. If you feel you have seen something that is illegal, we recommend you call our security team ASAP at 1-888-732-6235. The Mega Millions run that ended on Friday night had been going since October. That's two drawings every week since October. There were plenty of Mega Millions wins during the span of time.

1/07/2018 10:30 - Linda W.

Congratulations to the latest RCMT winner. I would like to know if there is a Board Member perhaps from RCMT. Last year a man won 10 Million in RCMT and there have been several big wins there. Also, I feel since we seem to have Cheaters here in Wilson that the rest of us are being penalized (no big winners here). I saw the article written about the people that win but fear getting caught owing money for this and that and then a benefactor helping them out and claiming the ticket over a deal that was made so the person could stay incognito. Always some people trying to beat the system. Also, I thought the Mega Millions ticket prices were raised to create more winners - I didn't notice any big wins. I saw in a previous answer you said we have smaller wins of $10,000. What happened to the 2nd prize of a Million etc? The Lottery Board members are not listening to the people, in huge lotteries several winners would be wonderful - maybe do it at least once a year!

1/07/2018 03:03 - Kashela D.

Why aren't there more JACKPOT scratch off tickets in the rural areas in Rocky Mount NC?? I play a lot and the highest I've won is $100...guess I finally got lucky.

1/07/2018 04:05 - Mark K.

I'm green

1/07/2018 02:40 - Sandy Geddie H.

That is great. That is so good. Wish you all the luck Do the mega ever.fall in North Carolina ................................. NC Lottery
Hi there, Sandy. North Carolin has only offered Mega Millions since 2010. Since then, there have been two jackpot winners in North Carolina, but we get smaller wins all the time! In the last drawing we had two $10,000 winners in our state!

1/06/2018 07:50 - James J.

Congrats! That's the lottery you can win if you get the right ticket or have the right numbers! It's a game of chance and I hate reading some comments of how people never win, folks everyone cannot win! It's a game people!!!! Thanks to NCEL for giving us a great game for people who play responsibly and enjoy!

1/06/2018 07:30 - Gregory F.

Wis I could win something big to help me with my retirement. I guess I have to leave the Ahoskie area and buy some scratch off tickets because their is nothing in Ahoskie. Congratulations to the winner you are truly blessed.

1/06/2018 12:33 - David G.

Where are the results for the holiday and extreme drawings? NC Lottery
Hi, David. As soon as players claim, winners will be updated. Go to your player dashboard. Select "Draws." On the top right you will see two tabs/boxes. Unselect "My entries" and change the drop down from "Active" to "All" You will be able to see winners.

1/06/2018 10:46 - LOLITA C.

What happen to your list of winners for the luck-e second chance draws? NC Lottery
Hi there, Lolia. Go to your player dashboard or log in to the app. Select "Draws." It defaults to Lucke-Rewards drawings, so you have to select the tab, "Second-Chance." On the top right you will see two tabs/boxes. Unselect "My entries" and change the drop down from "Active" to "All" You will be able to see winners.

1/06/2018 08:43 - George M.

I got wounded in combat with 100% unemployables. I would love to win to help me. I can't work.

1/06/2018 05:40 - Jeanene J.

How wonderful......congratulations.

1/06/2018 03:09 - Lantino G.

How many entries where in the 2nd chance extreme millions?? I had well over 300 entries in there myself smh..result nothing lol NC Lottery
Hi there, Lantino. We wish every ticket could be a lucky one, but that is just not the case. There were 1,395,919 entries in the most recent Extreme Millions second-chance drawing.

1/05/2018 07:34 - Willie B.

wish i could win,i play all the time NOTHING

1/05/2018 07:24 - Frankie S.

Congratulations to You & Your Family. One of these days my husband & I are going to be Big Winners of a lot of Money.

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$255,555 lottery win will help Cleveland County man with retirement

January 5, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:50 PM

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