Joshua Roten of Statesville said his girlfriend could see the shock on his face after a Fast Play ticket revealed a $214,420 jackpot.
“She said I looked like I saw a ghost,” Roten laughed. “I told her, ‘I just hit the jackpot.’”
Roten, a 31-year-old maintenance worker, bought his lucky $10 50X The Cash ticket Monday afternoon from Home Run Market on Old Mountain Road in Statesville.
“When I first saw it, I was in disbelief,” he said. “When it finally sunk in, I was ecstatic.”
At the time of his purchase, the jackpot stood at $214,420. Since he bought a $10 ticket, Roten received 100% of the progressive jackpot. The odds of winning a Fast Play jackpot are 1 in 320,000.
“The first thing she said to me was, ‘Let’s go on vacation,’” Roten said. “Then we went out to celebrate at an Italian restaurant."
Roten arrived at lottery headquarters Tuesday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $152,777.
Fast Play features an instantly growing jackpot that increases with every ticket sold until it is won. As of Wednesday morning, the Fast Play jackpot stands at $38,000 and counting.
The N.C. Education Lottery’s Play Smart™ program educates and empowers North Carolinians to make smart decisions when they play the lottery. March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month and the lottery highlights Play Smart to help ensure when North Carolinians play the lottery it doesn’t become more than a game. Visit nclottery.com/PlaySmart to learn how the Play Smart program helps someone create a game plan to keep lottery play fun. If you or someone you know needs support, visit morethanagame.nc.gov/ for free, confidential help.
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