$1 million lottery winner almost throws away his second chance

July 25, 2019 Posted by NC Lottery at 2:48 PM

Derrick Suber of Charlotte said he nearly missed out on a $1 million win by throwing away his scratch-off tickets.

“I bought three Colossal Cash tickets and none of them were big winners,” Suber said. “I went to throw them away, but then I saw the second-chance heading. Until I read that, I didn’t even know there were second-chance drawings.”

Before throwing away his tickets, the electrical technician went to the lottery’s website and entered them into the $10,000,000 Colossal Cash Second-Chance Drawing. Players can enter winning and nonwinning tickets into second-chance drawings for a chance to win cash or other prizes.

When Suber found out he won $1 million he couldn’t believe it.

“I thought, ‘Is this really happening?’” Suber said. “This isn’t something that happens every day.”

He claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. Suber 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 $424,500. He plans to use the money to pay his student loans and mortgage.

“It feels great to have this second-chance,” Suber said. “To be debt free and not have to worry about this is a blessing.”

There are three $10,000,000 Colossal Cash second-chance drawings remaining. The game offers 25 prizes of $1 million or more. The top prize is $10 million.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games help the lottery raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds are making a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website, https://www.nclottery.com.

21 COMMENTS

7/28/2019 04:03 - Howard S.

The Lady name Charnell N says nobody wins on the scrarchoffs from Elizabeth City, well she is wrong. I win all the time. When it's your time, it's your time. Good everybody!!! YOU GOT TO LOVE IT!!!????

7/27/2019 11:30 - Brian R.

Morning,I just seen that a couple won one million dollars. But after taxes they get 701.000 Then this guy wins 2nd chance drawing and gets only 424,000 I'm trying to figure out how's that fair? Just saying. I do play cash5 and sum scratch offs win little here and there. But hoping to win big sure could use some luck. But the tax of it don't seem fair. I don't mind tax so much, but why so much?NC Lottery
Hi Brian, we're glad you asked this question. The difference in prize money is because the $1 million prize in Colossal Cash is an annuity. So the $1 million is paid out over 20 years, or a winner can take a lump sum of $600,000. The difference between the lump sum and the annuity would be earned on interest over the course of 20 years. The $1 million prize in Powerball is not an annuity so the winner gets the full amount upfront.

7/27/2019 08:32 - Rodriekiaus D.

Is there a certain area to scan your second chance lotto tickets for the $30 tickets becNC Lottery
Hi Rodriekiaus, the barcode for the Colossal Cash ticket is toward the bottom of the ticket, beneath the "Your Numbers" section. You can see the barcode on the info page for the ticket. https://nclottery.com/ScratchOffDetail?gn=587 You can see where the barcode is on any ticket by looking at a game's info page.

7/27/2019 02:55 - quincy p.

How is drawing done? Is the ticket you buy already predetermined winner or are the ticket numbers entered than picked. I've seen people saying they bought multiple tickets just wondering does that help there chance with actual draw or is it already determined by ticket bought.NC Lottery
Hi Quincy, Second Chance drawings are conducted using a Random Number Generator. The entries are not tied to specific individual tickets, just to the game or group of games. So there are no predetermined winning Second Chance tickets. Players scan their ticket, and every scanned ticket will be entered as an entry into the Second Chance drawing. The Random Number Generator then selects winning entries from all the entries made during the drawing entry period.

7/26/2019 10:13 - Cecelia S.

CONGRATULATIONS SIR!! one day I'm going to win! I'm going to keep on playing until I do But, responsible of course. Good Luck and good vibes to all!

7/26/2019 09:06 - olethia b.

Congratulations

7/26/2019 08:26 - clara a.

how can to know if i won a second chance?

7/26/2019 08:20 - clara a.

how can to know if a person win a prizes? this winner look for lottery web site, but i never has see the winner list. i play second chance but i check my email that so, may explain please about itNC Lottery
Hi Clara, Second Chance and Lucke Reward winners are first notified by email, if we can't reach you by email we follow up by phone and certified mail. You can see the list of all winners by going to the Drawings page (https://rewards.nclottery.com/drawings) selecting "all" in the drop-down and unchecking "my entries."

7/26/2019 07:58 - Lynn G.

Love it,

7/26/2019 11:11 - Denver G.

You gotta love it. Let that be a lesson to all you "over achievers". You don't need 3000 entries or even 300. You just need good luck and good KARMA. Spending more then you should, cheating, or praying you win don't cut it. Just the luck of the draw. If some of you would realize that maybe there would be less complaining on these blogs.......

7/26/2019 10:55 - Brenda S.

Nice feeling to win. Fanastic.

7/26/2019 06:50 - Tiffany B.

You are blessed and DEBT FREE!!! Congratulations!

7/26/2019 03:42 - ALAN C.

How many entries are in the Colossal Cash Second-Chance Drawing.NC Lottery
Right now we have 82,221 entries for the Colossal Cash drawing that opened on July 1. Good luck!

7/26/2019 01:22 - Linda J.

Thank God... I bet you'll keep your old tickets in a shoe box. But, where did Derrick buy his colossal ticket at?...NC Lottery
Hey Linda! Players don't have to hold on to their tickets after entering them into the second-chance drawing, so that's not info we have.

7/26/2019 12:33 - Mary H.

Congratulations :)

7/25/2019 08:40 - Julia P.

Congratulation!! WOW by buying only 3 tickets. I had 38 entries I won $0, I think its time I say good Bye to NC Lottery. Glad someone has Luck! NC Lottery
Sometimes is just takes ONE lucky ticket to win! :)

7/25/2019 06:04 - Arlene V.

IF HE TAKES A LUMP SUM OF $600,000 WHERE DOES THE OTHER $400,000 GO?NC Lottery
Great question, Arlene! The difference between the annuity and the lump sum is not a penalty--winners are given the choice between a $1 million payment paid out over 20 years, or a lump sum of $600,000. The difference between those amounts would be earned on interest over the course of 20 years that the $1 million annuity would be paid. It is always up to the player to choose which one to go with. Which would you choose?

7/25/2019 05:24 - Erin B.

Congratulations to Mr. Suber!!! A true blessing!! Can't believe that he only had 3 entries, kinda disheartening to those of us who religiously enter tickets into these drawings. NC Lottery
We wish every player could be a big winner, but it's important to remember that prize money comes from non-winning tickets. Sometimes it just takes one lucky entry to win. We wish you all the best, Erin.

7/25/2019 04:47 - Douglas H.

One MILLION congratulations:-). Enjoy the win. So happy for you

7/25/2019 04:28 - Brent W.

@NCEL CONGRATULATIONS! How do you know if you receive notifications of Second Chance Drawings?NC Lottery
Hey there Brent! For our second-chance and Lucke-Rewards drawings, we first reach out to the winner via email. If we don't hear back, we will follow up with a phone call and then send a certified letter if necessary. Winners have 30 days from the first notification to respond and claim their prize, so we want to make sure we are able to reach them somehow!

7/25/2019 03:53 - charnell n.

I believe you guys are letting your family members or close friends know where these tickets at! It’s rig! I been playing for 20 years! New scratch offs and it be soon when they come out the same day and haven’t hit big yet! I think it’s a shame! No one in Moyock or Elizabeth City or Summerville! Smhh!NC Lottery
Hi Charnell, North Carolina Education lottery employees and their families aren't allowed to play lottery games that are played in North Carolina. We don’t know where the winning tickets are until they’re claimed. It is important to remember that transparency and trust that the lottery is being run fairly is of utmost importance, and knowing that real people win real prizes plays a major part in that. That said, we do see many winners from the Elizabeth City and Moyock! If you are looking for specific information on winners, we’re happy to provide that info to you, just send your request to player.info@lotterync.net.

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$1 million lottery winner almost throws away his second chance

July 25, 2019 Posted by NC Lottery at 2:48 PM

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