Johnston County man wins $10 million scratch-off prize

September 26, 2019 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:33 PM

For years as a house painter, Joseph Keefer of Four Oaks said he dreamed of one day having enough money to buy and sell real estate himself, a dream that his $10 million lottery prize now will help come true.

Keefer said he plans to share the prize with his older brother, Russell, who helped him get started as a painter and who he credited with having the good luck that led to the big win. He said the two had agreed to share the prize if either ever won big.

The brothers’ good luck happened Monday when they stopped at the DH Mart on Fairground Road in Dunn and Keefer gave his brother $30 to try their luck in the $300,000,000 Supreme Riches game. “He’s been winning lately, so I used his luck,” Keefer said.

The Keefer brothers drove together to Raleigh afterward to claim the prize at lottery headquarters. Keefer had the choice of taking a $10 million annuity that has 20 payments of $500,000 a year or a lump sum of $6 million. He chose the lump sum and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $4,245,009.

“Invest it in buying and selling real estate,” said Keefer, when asked about their plans. “It’s going to last us a pretty good while.”

Keefer said the first thing he plans to do is pay off all his bills, including his mortgage.

The game launched in April with four top prizes of $10 million and six $1 million prizes. Two $10 million prizes and four $1 million prizes remain. Players can also enter their $300,000,000 Supreme Riches tickets into second-chance drawings for a chance to win $1 million. The entry deadline for the second of four drawings is Nov. 30 and the drawing is scheduled for Dec. 4.

40 COMMENTS

10/21/2019 07:04 - Sheila I.

@nc lottery. Someone won on the $5 million Fortune. Do you know who and where?NC Lottery
That's right, Sheila! Our first $5,000,000 Fortune top prize was claimed on Friday. We'll be sharing more details on that win soon!

10/03/2019 03:28 - Sheila I.

Beverly R. I thought all taxes are paid up front once you claim your prize? Lottery wins, scratch offs etc? ??????NC Lottery
Hi Sheila, We only withhold the minimum state and federal taxes when a winner comes in to claim their prize. Since every winner's financial situation is unique, it's not for us to decide how much to withhold beyond what is required by law. That's why we always recommend that winners consult with a tax professional so there are no surprises come tax time.

10/02/2019 12:30 - Tim M.

SHEILA I, yes, it would. Tell me about it. Preaching to the choir. LOL.

10/01/2019 07:29 - Sheila I.

Tim M. New games come out today. My birthday is Friday so I'm treating myself to a few of the old and new scratch offs. A nice win would be a great birthday gift ??????

9/30/2019 12:23 - Tim M.

I don't know if I agree with the real estate venture. Why? Ever hear of the infamous LOTTERY CURSE? Granted, this usually involves bigger winners on games like Powerball but even a smaller winner might be wise to pay heed. Ever seen these special news programs dealing with this? There's horror story after horror story, some even resulting in death. As for business ventures, I remember one couple won only a few million but then bought an emu ranch. Why? Because the wife liked emus I think. But before long they owed the IRS something like 1.5 million and were unable to pay! Might want to reconsider business ventures.

9/29/2019 08:42 - Sheila I.

@tanya d, they could at least put $10 on cards that are not big winners ??

9/29/2019 11:32 - Beverly R.

Congrats Mr. Keefer! Sadly I can't afford $30 for one ticket but it does seem the chances for winning are better with 5 dollar and up tickets as opposed to the 1 and 2 dollar kind. It's a total bummer that the winner will have to pay MORE taxes when he files with IRS in April. There needs to be a way for NCEL to be able to deduct all the taxes the govt requires so when one walks out NCEL door, he/she doesn't still owe more money. I know how much you will owe has to do with your income but it would be nice if you could present your last tax return and NCEL could deduct additional based on that. Just would be nice to know you won X number of dollars, not you won X and probably have to give up another 20 or 30 percent or more of it next April.

9/29/2019 08:16 - Tanya D.

I know it’s your choice to purchase scratch off tickets but $30 is a lot of money to pay and not win anything at all! I agree with some of the other comments about all big winners seem to be in the EAst

9/29/2019 08:06 - Tanya D.

It always seem like all the big winners of scratch tickets are always in the areas surrounding Raleigh. Even when the new tickets come out. Another thing I noticed is they mostly be small stores or in small counties!

9/29/2019 01:19 - Tim M.

I think it's about time NCEL had another one of those 'ALL TAXES PAID' scratch-offs. Remember that? Not sure how that works with the lump sum issue but would no doubt offset something.

9/29/2019 12:49 - Carolynn W.

Congratulations ??

9/28/2019 09:48 - Elsie S.

Happy someone from the area has finally won. Congrats!

9/28/2019 07:36 - Sheila I.

@nc lottery I think what Gary R is saying, the scratch off is for $10 mill but in reality it's really a little over $4 mill. $6million in taxes....???????? NC Lottery
Hey Sheila -- he chose the $6 million lump sum and was taxed on that amount. By law the lottery is required to withhold 24% federal and 4.75% state taxes on all prizes more than $5,000. A job that pays a salary has taxes withheld on it as well. Lottery winnings are taxed as income too!

9/28/2019 04:06 - Christine F.

Congratulations Keefer Bothers! Good luck in you your new endeavor. And be sure to start a retirement account for your future.

9/28/2019 02:33 - Sheila I.

@william A, how much is one roll for the $30 scratch offs?NC Lottery
Hi Sheila, a pack of $30 tickets contains 30 tickets and costs $900.

9/28/2019 02:28 - Sheila I.

@nc lottery, what is the amount a winner will receive if they chose the annuity payments? Also, do people actually take the annuity payments....40 and over probably won't ?? NC Lottery
They would end up with the same amount, just spread over time!

9/28/2019 01:37 - Ralph W.

Nobody has ever won a big prize of a scratch off like that in Winston Salem NC the winning tickets are sold in those small county's why? When lot's of people play scratch offs in Winston Salem NC too I just feel like it's not fair NC Lottery
Hi Ralph, you may have missed this big win from Winston Salem recently? https://nclottery.com/NewsBlogDetails/2019/8/29/1-million-win-means-Winston-Salem-couple-can-take-dream-trip-to-see-the-Minnesota-Twins-and-Vikings

9/28/2019 10:32 - Brenda S.

Fanastic. Families stick together. Best of luck, with your real estate venture.

9/28/2019 08:23 - gary r.

Sure seems a shame to win 10 million and only get 4 million. Can you say rippoff…. NC Lottery
Hey Gary, it was the winner's choice whether to take the $10 million prize paid out in 20 payments of $500,000, or to select the $6 million lump sum. The same tax withholding is applied to either option. With the annuity you have the withholding done each year as you receive your $500,000 for 20 years. With the lump sum option, it is done only one time.

9/28/2019 07:12 - Machla P.

Congrats to you both! So glad to read about the previous commitment made to each other in regards to winning and keeping it. Yayyyy!

9/27/2019 08:18 - Dwight M.

Congratulations to the winners. However though, there's no doubt where most majority of the winning tickets are being distributed. Out East. Anyone with eyes can see this. I don't believe it's a wracked now. Because there are ticket winners. But it's a diligently controlled distribution. There's just too many far east winners. NC is bjgger than a 75 - 100 mile radius of the lottery headquarters. But as said most big or frequent winners are far east. NC Lottery
Hey Dwight, it's no easier to win the lottery in one place over another, and we've had winners from all over. If you talk to a professor of math and statistics they'll tell you that places where more people live and play the lottery don't have better chances to win; there are simply just more people playing there. Hope that helps!

9/27/2019 08:14 - Sheila I.

Ok. I won $50 on my favorite scratch off Carolina Black. Any $$$ under $100 I usually recycle and buy more tickets. Should I buy (1) $30 and (4) $5Carolina Black? Or (10) Carolina Black ????????

9/27/2019 05:00 - Gregg J.

CONGRADS!!!! YOU DESERVE IT!!

9/27/2019 04:34 - William A.

I bought two of these rolls in the past two weeks. I won 410.00 on the first and 460.00 on the second. Learned a valuable lesson don’t ever buy rolls. One more thing the odds are way off and the 61% payout is to

9/27/2019 03:00 - Roderick P.

What are the total entries of the fall fortune game?NC Lottery
Our latest report shows that the Fall Fortune Lucke-Rewards drawing has 1,317,564 entries. We'll have an updated total on Monday, so feel free to check back then!

9/27/2019 12:25 - john a.

Those tickets may have been cashed in there, but could have been bought somewhere else.

9/27/2019 12:10 - Tim M.

I know this store too! I was actually in there the other week but this store has never struck me as having a big winner like this. I think they close at 9 PM! LOL. As for the winning ticket suggestions, please consider this. Some stores I go in, they have taped all over the walls or counter lots of winning tickets. Sure, the largest one you see is $500 but some stores choose to display this. Other stores just have official printouts from NCEL. For example: $5,000 WINNER THIS STORE, PICK 4. So, it could be a good idea.

9/27/2019 11:35 - Douglas H.

Congratulations!!! Amazing win!! Huge blessing

9/27/2019 10:27 - Sheila I.

My birthday is 10/4 and I plan to buy a few scratch offs as a gift to myself ????????NC Lottery
Happy almost birthday, Sheila! We hope you find some lucky tickets.

9/27/2019 10:24 - Sheila I.

@andy c. That's a good idea! I would like to see what an actual winning ticket look like. For example: does it say "winner" on the winning #, does the winning number change color. It sounds silly but hey ????

9/27/2019 09:08 - Andy C.

I've mentioned this before, but what the Lottery needs to do to make stories like this more interesting is to show an image of the Winning Ticket. Why hasn't this been done already?NC Lottery
We appreciate the input, Andy, and we've made note of your suggestion. At this time we don't have plans to add images of the actual tickets to our blogs, but that's not to say we won't do that in the future. In the meantime, you are welcome to submit a public information request to player.info@lotterync.net and someone on our team will work to gather the requested files.

9/27/2019 05:57 - Victoria B.

Awesome win! Congrats.

9/27/2019 05:00 - WILLIAM D.

congrats to you both.May God be your guidance in all your decisions and success.

9/27/2019 01:07 - Eric B.

Congratulations. I can't wait for my turn to be a jackpot winner in the lottery. Continue to be blessed & be a blessing to others.

9/26/2019 10:49 - Bryant G.

Being close to family is very important brings GOOD KARMA congratulations Guys. I love to see family members that are close and stick together. Because i truly think I come from the worst family on this planet MY GOD

9/26/2019 08:53 - Alana B.

Down east. 95% of the time. Just an observation that simply cannot be denied by any objective observer. If I wanted to really peak the interest of players, why not take total number of grand prizes, designate a portion for “zones” in the state so that people know that it is an equal playing field? If your counter is “Well, once prizes are won in that “zone” people will stop buying—ok—but if I become sold that it only can happen down east, then why play anywhere else? But when you are raking money in hand over fist—who cares? NC Lottery
Where a winning ticket ends up is all a matter of luck. We've certainly seen lots of winners down east, but we also see a fair share of winners across all parts of the state where folks are playing for a chance to win. Each month we share a recap that maps out all the big wins in the month--and usually there's a pretty good spread across the state. Here's last month's recap: https://nclottery.com/NewsBlogDetails/2019/9/6/Video--Players-win-big-in-August.

9/26/2019 07:30 - RHONDA L.

WOW, Congratulations!!

9/26/2019 07:03 - Harry T.

I bought 8 Pay ME tickets ....5 dollars each and did not win a penny.....I will not buy anymore tickets in North Carolina and drive to Virginia....its a rip-off with North CarolinaNC Lottery
Sorry to hear you aren't having more luck, Harry. Please know that it takes a lot of luck to win a prize of any size. Odds of 1 in 4 don't mean that every fourth ticket will have a prize. It just means that 25% of all the tickets printed for that game have a prize. Where they end up is all a matter of luck. Best of luck to you.

9/26/2019 04:59 - Quincy R.

Way to go guys, my turn has to be coming sometime soon...!

9/26/2019 04:50 - Gregory F.

Congratulations I know that's a tremendous blessing to be able to pay off your mortgage and all of your bills. Enjoy your self mr. Keefer this is great. Waiting on my blessing to help me in retirement.

Win up to $1,000,000 every 4 minutes

Big Thrills Served Fast.

Progressive Jackpot Estimate

Johnston County man wins $10 million scratch-off prize

September 26, 2019 Posted by NC Lottery at 4:33 PM

Helpful Links

Get the Mobile App

No Longer Just a Game? There's Help