After Jonathan Bate got off of work Wednesday morning, he stopped at an Alamance County convenience store to get a coffee and walked out with a $5 million prize.
“The funny part about the ticket is, I got the wrong ticket!” he said Wednesday as he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. “I asked for one and I got another and I just said, ‘Alright.’”
Bate, a construction superintendent in NC for a job, purchased his winning $20 ticket from the Maple Ave Family Fare on Maple Avenue in Burlington.
Sitting in his car drinking his coffee, Bate scratched his ticket.
“I got to the fifth number and it was a winner and I was like, ‘Wow, no way!’” he said. “It didn’t sink in at first. I still can’t believe I won.”
He had the choice of taking the $5 million as an annuity of $250,000 a year over 20 years or a lump sum of $3 million. Bate, of Poughkeepsie, New York, chose the lump sum of $3 million and took home $2,122,506 after required state and federal tax withholdings.
“A new truck and my granddaughter is going to go to college,” said Bate when asked about how he plans to spend the prize money.
$5,000,000 Fortune launched in August 2019 with three top prizes of $5 million and six $100,000 prizes. Bate won the last top prize so the lottery will begin steps to end the game.
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Glad to see a mistake that paid off.Best of luck to you, congratulations.