David Meares of Columbus County immediately thought of his family after his $2 Lucky for Life ticket won him a $25,000 a year for life prize.
“Family is the number one thing to me,” he said. “All for one and one for all.”
Meares, 60, found out he won his big prize late at night on Oct. 5.
“I was up all night long,” he laughed. “My adrenaline was flowing.”
Meares said he reached out to his family right away to tell them what happened.
“I called my daughters and woke them up to tell them,” Meares recalled. “I’m pretty sure we scared them because we called at 12:30 in the morning.”
He bought his lucky ticket using Online Play. The odds of winning that prize are 1 in 1.8 million.
“I am just tickled to death,” Meares said.
When Meares arrived at lottery headquarters Monday, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive $25,000 a year for the rest of his life or a $390,000 lump sum. He chose the $390,000 lump sum and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $279,826.
Meares plans to buy his family a set of utility terrain vehicles so they can “ride together as a family.”
Lucky for Life is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play.
The N.C. Education Lottery’s Play Smart™ program helps North Carolinians make the most of their lottery play. Visit ncplaysmart.com to learn about all things lottery, from tips on how odds work to how to enter bonus drawings.
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