Lucky dog helps Vance County man win $1 million lottery prize

Moises Duarte of Henderson has a new appreciation for the expression man’s best friend after he said his dog helped him win a $1 million lottery prize.

“He’s my million dollar dog,” Duarte said. “I never would have stopped for a lottery ticket if it wasn’t for him.”

On Saturday, Duarte dropped his shih tzu off at his sister’s house in Durham on Saturday. On his way back, he stopped at the Buy Quick Food Mart on West Cornwallis Road and bought a $10 Red Hot Million$ scratch-off ticket. He took the ticket back to his car to scratch.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw what I won,” Duarte said. “I kept looking at it and looking at it.”

 Duarte claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum. After federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $424,503. He plans to use some of the money to get a new house and a purple Chevy truck.

Duarte is the first player to win a top prize since Red Hot Million$ launched earlier this month. Three $1 million prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like Red Hot Million$ make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how $2.5 million in lottery funds made a difference in Vance County last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.