‘This is going to completely change my life,’ Durham man says of $5 million win

May 24, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 8:42 AM

Bobby Matthews Jr. of Durham said he plans to start a new career after he won a $5 million lottery prize.

“This is going to completely change my life,” said Matthews, who works at a staffing agency. “I’m going to start investing in real estate.”

His good fortune happened Monday night when he stopped by the Fast Food Mart on Roxboro Road in Durham and bought a $5,000,000 Mega Cash ticket. He scratched the ticket when he got home.

“I was like, ‘Wow!’” Matthews exclaimed. “My life literally just changed. We were so excited we couldn’t sleep. We were up all night celebrating.”

Matthews claimed his prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of taking a $5 million annuity of 20 payments of $250,000, or a lump sum worth $3 million. He chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $2,115,036.

Congratulations!

33 COMMENTS

5/30/2018 07:08 - oliVia b.

Congratulations! ?????? celebrate!!!

5/29/2018 11:26 - eloy c.

Congratulations I hope I’ll be next

5/29/2018 09:38 - Patricia B.

Question. If he would have taken the payments would taxes be taken and if so how much? Just curious. By the way, congratulations on your win!!!!!!NC Lottery
Hi Patricia, If the winner had selected the 20-year, $250,000 annuity, $60,000 would be taken out for federal withholding at 24% and $13,747.50 would be taken out for state withholding at 5.499%, bringing the total to $176,252.50.

5/29/2018 08:30 - Robert A.

NCEL....my friends and myself was talking about ncel having pick3 and pick4 draws like 3 times a day as like the state of Georgia has for their lottery...we wish we did have to wait so long for the next draw game...so lets play at 12thirty 6thirty and 11.22...please...NC Lottery
Hi Robert, Thanks for sharing your input. We don't currently have any plans to make changes to our Pick 3 and Pick 4 games, but will keep your feedback in mind.

5/29/2018 04:49 - Surratt D.

How Awesome! Which something like this could happen in Mt.Airy N.C ... You don’t hear anything like this happen around here. Congratulations!!!

5/29/2018 02:21 - lisa p.

Durham, Charlotte, Durham. When are you going to send some winning tickets to the Concord/Kannapolis area? I'm not asking for the grand prizes, just something to make it worth my while playing. Scratched 12 tickets today and haven't won a dime. Same old same old day after day after day.NC Lottery
We understand where you are coming from, Lisa, we have had quite a few winners from those areas recently. However, just this month we had a winner from Kannapolis that won $200,000! Here's a link to their story: bit.ly/2GZQre4. Remember, we don't know where the winning tickets are until they are claimed, and it just takes one lucky ticket to win!

5/29/2018 09:12 - George H.

PEOPLE PLEASE,STOP ALL THE COMPLAINING AND KEEP ON PLAYING.BACK TO YOU LOTO"

5/29/2018 02:16 - Darren M.

Awesome.a 20.00 ticket. That was a Fantastic scratch.!

5/28/2018 02:25 - John H.

Congrats I played that game alot Im glad it finally payied out...keep the games going really helping folks out.thanks and to us whom havnt hit yet dont give up.

5/27/2018 10:42 - Lisa C.

Congratulations!

5/27/2018 06:57 - Rose B.

Big winners are always west of 95! I've been watching and playing for years so I'm not just being a sore loser but going on what I've seen!!! Congratulations to the lucky players who actually win in this state!! O Also Lucky is still not working correctly!!!NC Lottery
Hey Rose, Just last month we had a winner from Wilmington: bit.ly/2IN5Xim. Also, if you are still having trouble with the app, please try uninstalling it and then reinstalling it. Ff you do that and still are having trouble, please connect with our online support team at 1-855-767-1863. Thank you!

5/27/2018 06:15 - Gale I.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Sorry they took over half, but do your thing!

5/26/2018 09:51 - Sonya V.

Very happy for you??

5/26/2018 03:49 - Loshana M.

Congratulations!!! I still wonder where all the money comes from but I sure hope to win someday soon I truly need it tremendously!NC Lottery
Hey Loshana, The lottery is entirely self-funded, so all of the prize money is directly related to ticket sales. We're wishing you good luck!

5/26/2018 12:00 - stephane d.

Congratulations, 2.1 million will assist in a career change indeed. In reference to cash five results, in the past the website would indicate the city or county where the price was won. I noticed the website no longer indicates the location of the winning ticket any reason for the change?NC Lottery
We're not sure where you are seeing that, Stephane. On the Cash 5 Winner page, the ticket location was listed on each win. There were a few wins recently that were purchased online, so a city would not be listed.

5/26/2018 09:13 - Debbie C.

Congratulations!!!!

5/26/2018 07:42 - ANGEL W.

Congratulations!!!

5/25/2018 09:35 - Tracey W.

Great to hear. I pray I am next to win the second chance prize.

5/25/2018 01:46 - Joseph B.

WONDERFUL !!!!

5/25/2018 11:54 - Amanda C.

Congratulations this blessing couldn't have come at a better time.. so happy for you both.

5/25/2018 08:37 - Maurice H.

Bless you!

5/25/2018 07:34 - bret r.

Arvin J. There was no false advertisement. In the very last sentence it states "she took home $2,115,036". But most of all congratulations on the win I hope one day me and my family receive a blessing as such.

5/25/2018 01:41 - Michael M.

How is it false advertisement? He won 5m. He only took home less than half because of the way he received it. If you take the lump sum, the amount you get will always be lower. It's like any fee for getting money that is owed to you sooner. Then state and federal taxes have to be paid. This is like arguing with a store that they are false advertising $1 candy bars, because they don't cost $1, they cost $1.07 after taxes.

5/24/2018 10:38 - DOROTHY D.

Congratulations....ButGod

5/24/2018 09:47 - Alex L.

Congratulations

5/24/2018 07:50 - charnell n.

I think the lottery is rig! I think it's an inside job in which it's their family members who win. I drove all over N.C for two weeks trying to find a winning ticket and found nothing. Congratulations tho!NC Lottery
Hey Charnell, We work hard to uphold the integrity of the lottery, and a large part of that is ensuring that no prize is paid out until the winner is verified by our security team. If there is anything suspicious about a player's win -- for example if they are employed at a retailer that sells lottery products, or have any type of relation to a lottery employee -- there will be extra scrutiny on that winner to ensure that each and every prize is paid out appropriately.

5/24/2018 05:18 - Michael B.

Hello

5/24/2018 04:55 - Michael B.

Congrats to the winner and his family.But its might funny that two top pizes come out of the same county??? Durham same ticket 5 million mega cash. NC Lottery
Great catch, Michael! The other $5 million jackpot winner was from Lillington, but purchased the winning ticket in Durham.

5/24/2018 04:23 - Alana B.

Anyone with any common sense has to see where the majority (80%) of grand prize winners arw going to come from...Raleigh out about 100 miles in any direction. Just go back through the last 20 GP winmers and you'll see. So if you live that way, your chances are much, much higher than anywhere else in the state. Lottery officials will tell you differently--but they have zero skin in the game so they are not in the business of caring very much. Keep scratching, though...you have as much of a chance as anyone! NC Lottery
Hey Alana, A majority of the NC population lives within that 100 mile radius you described, so it is only natural that you see more winners from those areas. However, we do have many winners from small towns and rural areas of the state as well!

5/24/2018 03:28 - Jessica O.

Congratulations on your win sir. Enjoy it and your new career.

5/24/2018 03:22 - Priscilla W.

Congrats one day that’s going to be me .

5/24/2018 02:36 - Denver G.

It was his choice to take the $3 million lump sum instead of the $5 million spread over 20yrs. I got more things to worry about then someone else's decision or how much taxes was taken out.

5/24/2018 12:34 - arvin j.

False advertisement again , he only won 3 million not 5. Also there is a special needs bus in Granville without ac and keeps breaking down , can we get a little help? NC Lottery
Hi Arvin, When a player selects a lump sum payment instead of the 20 year annuity option, the final payout is indeed lower. However, his original prize was $5 million. We share this information (original prize amount and final payout) so that our other players have the ability to know more about how prize payout works. Thanks!

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‘This is going to completely change my life,’ Durham man says of $5 million win

May 24, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 8:42 AM