Every year, for the rest of his life, 59-year-old Christopher Johnson of Apex will collect another payment of the $25,000 a Year for Life prize he won playing the Lucky for Life game.
“The first thing I did was tell myself I can make a plan for the future,” Johnson said, “and that was a good feeling.”
After checking his email late at night and seeing a notification from the lottery, Johnson said he could barely sleep.
“I read it in the middle of the night and it woke me up for a while,” he said.
Johnson bought his lucky $2 Quick Pick ticket for the Oct. 12 drawing using Online Play on the lottery’s website. He won his prize by matching all five white balls in the drawing.
“I just decided to give it a whirl,” he said. “It was an exciting moment.”
Johnson claimed his prize at lottery headquarters Monday and had the choice of receiving $25,000 a year each year for the rest of his life or a $390,000 lump sum. He chose the $25,000 a year for life option and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $17,756 in his first yearly payment.
The odds of winning the $25,000 a year for life prize are 1 in 1,813,028.
Lucky for Life is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play, either through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Lucky for Life tickets are $2 and drawings are held every night.
Login to leave a comment.