John Turner of Shelby became overcome with emotion after discovering his $30 scratch-off purchase turned into a $3 million win.
“I started bawling,” Turner said. “It was a happy cry though.”
Turner, 47, bought his Fabulous Fortune ticket from the Kangaroo Express on Mallard Creek Road in Charlotte. After scratching the ticket outside in the parking lot, he said he initially had a hard time processing what just happened.
“My mind was going like 100 miles per hour,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve done it. I finally hit the big one.’”
When Turner arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to collect his prize, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $150,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $1.8 million. He chose the lump-sum amount of $1.8 million and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $1,282,509.
Turner said he plans to pay off his car, share some money with his family, and invest the rest.
Fabulous Fortune debuted in July with six $3 million prizes and 18 $100,000 prizes. Since Turner claimed the last $3 million prize, the lottery will begin the process of ending the game.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. Cleveland County received $22.8 million in grants, using funds raised by the lottery, to help with school construction. For details on other ways money raised by the lottery made a difference in Cleveland County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
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seems to me y'all know where the winning tickets are going to...i understand you want to recoup the set aside money to be able to pay out...and if you put all the winners out there in the beginning and they won no one would purchase as many of those tickets......and if your going to discontinue a ticket you put the winners out there instead of putting the reserves back in your own pocket...give the people w/ big dreams better odds of winning