Benjamin Pierce III of Hendersonville is starting off retirement with a $25,000 A Year For Life Prize.
The former electrical engineer retired to North Carolina from Indiana in November. He played the lottery there and decided he’d try his luck in the Tar Heel state.
“Now that I live here, I buy a Powerball, Mega Millions, and Lucky For Life ticket,” Pierce said.
He got his ticket for the Feb. 12 Lucky For Life drawing at Norm’s Minit Mart on Kanuga Road in Hendersonville. He checked his numbers the next week.
“When it said to go to Raleigh I didn’t know what to think,” Pierce said. “It’s a nice welcome to North Carolina.”
Pierce claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of getting $25,000 a year every year for the rest of his life or a lump sum of $390,000. He chose the lump sum and after federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $274,954. He plans to use the money for retirement.
The $2 ticket beat odds of one in 1.8 million to win the game’s second prize of $25,000 A Year For Life. So far, two North Carolinians have won the top prize, $1,000 A Day For Life, and 14 have won the second prize. There are 10 ways to win a prize playing Lucky For Life.
Ticket sales from games like Lucky For Life make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education.
Congratulations!
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