Otis Gurgainous of Magnolia made a routine stop to buy gas and left with a Lucky No. 7 scratch-off ticket worth $1 million.
“I stopped to get gas yesterday afternoon,” Gurgainous said. “I had won $10 from an EZ Match on the Cash 5 game, so I used that to buy the scratch-off ticket. When I saw I won, I couldn’t believe it.”
Gurgainous bought the $10 ticket Monday from the Newton Grove Family Fare on Harnett Dunn Highway in Newton Grove.
“I’ve won $1,000 before, but never something this big,” said Gurgainous. “I didn’t sleep very much last night. It still doesn’t seem quite real.”
Gurgainous claimed his prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $423,009. He says he plans to use the prize to pay off his house and take a cruise.
Lucky No. 7 launched in April with six top prizes of $1 million. Three top prizes remain.
Ticket sales from games like Lucky No. 7 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website www.nclottery.com.
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