Greenville substitute teacher gets $1 million birthday surprise

September 12, 2019 Posted by NC Lottery at 7:52 AM

Phyllis Moss of Greenville said she got the best birthday gift she could ask for when she won a $1 million lottery prize just days before she turned 64.

“A friend of mine told me something wonderful was going to happen on my birthday this year,” Moss said. “I never believed it would be this. It’s an extra reason to celebrate. Wow! Just Wow!”

The substitute teacher’s good luck started when she stopped at the Duck Thru Food Store on Greenville Boulevard in Greenville and bought a $1,000,000 Win It All scratch-off ticket. When Moss saw she had matching numbers, she couldn’t believe it.

“I started crying I was so happy,” Moss said. “I immediately called my fiancé and told him, ‘You need to pick me up. I can’t drive. I can’t drive. I’m shaking so much.’”

Moss claimed her prize Wednesday afternoon at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She 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. She chose the lump sum. After federal and state tax withholdings she took home $424,503. She plans to use some of the money to pay bills and help her family.

“This has changed my life,” Moss said. “Someone pinch me. This doesn’t feel real.”

Moss is the first player to win a top $1 million prize playing the new game. Three top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like $1,000,000 Win It All make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.

20 COMMENTS

9/16/2019 06:17 - Berry B.

Njoy yourself young lady!!

9/16/2019 04:11 - Mike S.

Hey DG, we escaped Dorian with minimal inconvenience. Congrats on the new grandbaby! I don't blame folks for being confused on how high finance and wealth are handled in the business. Most of us, me included, haven't experienced it. Business classes in college gave me alot of insight. And I've always followed stocks, bonds and the markets.

9/16/2019 03:22 - Denver G.

Hey 87SPG, how's my east coaster doing ? Rough year... Nice explanation. Like always , I'll be the wit and you be the wisdom but people still won't get it. Players need to learn not to take themselves or these blogs so seriously . Hey Scorpionking. Pic 3 was good too me this weekend (very good). Red ball and combos and house money . Yeah baby, that was time too go all in...........

9/15/2019 03:59 - JIM B.

Here's a good one for you! I go out Sunday morning and buy 6 (any) Quick Picks for the Sunday (evening) Pick 3 draw. It's a no brainer with the Red ball guaranteed to be drawn. Lo and behold 2 of the Quick picks are 554 and 955. Tell me the odds of that? Hopefully you can really give me the odds if both of these happen to come in tonight! NC Lottery
The odds of any specific combination being selected is 1 in 1,000. No matter what combination you receive, your odds will always be the same. However, if you would rather have more control in what numbers you play, you can always skip the Quick Pick and choose your own. Good luck!

9/14/2019 10:16 - Albert N.

i have played long enough probably more than 25 years from Las Vegas, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Virginia ,South Carolina, North Carolina but the luck still evades me. I lost a lot- think how much i already spent- Because i reached to the point of no return so i continued to burn my money for this Trojan Horse machine with the hope that in the hand of God someday he will bless me to give me back the hard earning money i burnt. sometimes i would wish that i never played in very first time. My advice to players if you do not involve deeply then stop playing it. Anyway, i congratulate persons who ever got luck.

9/14/2019 08:49 - Mike S.

LZ, I don't think your comparison using a mortgage was the right way to go about explaining it. However most folks are confusing how the money is invested to get the additional $400K. People are looking at their local bank rates for consumer accounts, not corporate or large deposit accounts. Currently the large deposit rates are around 2.5%. If you deposit $600K at 2.5% for 20 years you will receive $383K in interest. Remember interest is compounded and that's how the total amount comes out to $1M. Lump sum and taxes are a different issue.

9/13/2019 11:20 - Denikee D.

Congratulations! Happy Birthday ??????

9/13/2019 07:57 - Kimberly V.

Congratulations!!?? You have given your time, patience, dedication and self to teaching ?? Enjoy ?? You totally deserves a great WIN!!!

9/13/2019 04:15 - Walter K.

Congrats

9/13/2019 01:12 - Tim M.

@GUSTAVO L, @NC LOTTERY doesn't look at it like we do. They compare the interest the prize money would earn to mortgage interest but that's not realistic. What if you win and simply put the money in the bank? Are you going to earn 5.75%? No way! Get this! My local credit union gives 0.25% on checking and 0.75% on savings. Money Market, IRAs, that type of thing, earn a little more, but it's still not 5.75%, probably not even close. The Government probably just does that in their favor. To make matters worse, you couldn't make up the 400K anyway because then they taxed your lump sum to death, hence your 400K. After a couple of years, most winners wouldn't have to worry about this issue anyway, if ya know what I mean?

9/13/2019 11:15 - Brenda S.

Very Nice. Happy for you.

9/13/2019 09:14 - Gustavo L.

NC Lottery: You just prove my point. No bank will give you 5.75% interest on your money. Completely different than when you take a loan for 30 yrs. Don’t penalize winners, you still making a lot of money for the state and education. You can make more if you add more winners and have more prizes. Cheers!

9/13/2019 08:03 - Denver G.

Congrats Mz Moss and happy birthday ! Lump sum or annuity , it's a personal choice. Enjoy your good fortune any way you see fit......... (honeymoon)? :D:D:D

9/12/2019 11:15 - Gustavo L.

Michael is right! NC lottery assumption is incorrect because there is no bank that will pay you $400k in interest for 20yrs on an investment of $600k. Plus is also incorrect because there assumption is if you invest $600k, but you only get $425k not $600k. BTW congrats to the winner. The rules here in NC have to change, example in FL they give you what you won less taxes no lump sum penalties and instead of having 4 million prizes, almost each game have 10 or more so there are more winners in different places on the state. NC Lottery
Hi Gustavo, Think of it in terms of mortgage interest rates: a $600,000 mortgage with a $5.75% interest rate would accrue just about $400,000 over the course of it's 20 year life. The lump sum on a $1 million prize is $600,000. It's the winner's choice whether they choose one or the other. The tax withholding is the same on both prizes, just applied against the lump sum once or the annuity payment every year.

9/12/2019 08:32 - Sheila I.

Congrats and Happy Birthday! My turn next on any $5 and up card ????????

9/12/2019 07:17 - Tim M.

@NC LOTTERY, a 64-year old woman ain't gonna take an annuity for obvious reasons. In cases like this, where the winner is older, some things should be allowed. Treat it like it's a $1-million Cash 5 or something in cases like this. Let the other business pertain to the young whippersnappers. Change the rules.NC Lottery
Thanks for the feedback, Tim. We'll be sure to share it with the folks who create our games and rules.

9/12/2019 03:52 - Michael R.

Why advertise these games as a million dollar, when its only $600,000 if you take the winning as a one time lump Sum. So disingenuous , so misleading, so manipulative. NC Lottery
When a winner comes in to claim, they have the choice between taking a $1 million annuity paid out in $50,000 payments over 20 years, or a $600,000 lump sum. The difference between the lump sum and the annuity would be earned on interest over the course of 20 years. In the early days of the lottery, $1 million prizes were only paid out as $1 million annuities, but players asked for the option of taking a lump sum, so we made it available to them. Hope this helps explain things a little.

9/12/2019 11:47 - Gregory F.

Congratulations what a wonderful blessing for your birthday enjoy your blessing paying off bills and helping your family. Waiting on my blessing.

9/12/2019 11:26 - Douglas H.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! and happy birthday!!! So happy for you Ms Moss :-)

9/12/2019 10:54 - natasha a.

Happy Birthday!!

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Greenville substitute teacher gets $1 million birthday surprise

September 12, 2019 Posted by NC Lottery at 7:52 AM