Pender County man bags first $1 million top prize in new game

April 7, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 2:05 PM

Maulin Patel of Atkinson tried his luck on a $10 scratch-off and won the first $1 million top prize in a new game.

Patel bought his lucky 50X The Cash ticket from Atkinson Minute Mart on West Church Street in Atkinson, a store where he works.

When Patel arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to claim his prize, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive his prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum of $600,000 and, after required tax withholdings, took home $432,063.

The 50X The Cash game debuted in January with 12 top prizes of $1 million. Eleven $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.

21 COMMENTS

4/24/2026 04:50 - NC Lottery

Hi, Oniah! Our players are our eyes and ears across the state! Anytime you have a concern about something that happened at a particular store that sells lottery tickets, please contact our security division immediately at 1-888-732-6235.

4/22/2026 02:59 - Oniah B.

i think the ticket is stolen and i will be making a report and i agree with Margaret because some of the cashiers and the stores don't have places where you can scan the ticket yourself so if I don't scan on my app, I go in and I let them scan it. They could see how much I won and steal my ticket so I just turned in a winning ticket and they didn't tell me it was a winning ticket that's illegal, but if someone goes out here and rob the bank that's not illegal but somebody can sit there and steal my money that I work for that I paid for you guys really need to have a better code or something security protocol in the app to confirm I feel like once it's scanned on the app. It's your ticket regardless of if the ticket is signed or not because who has access to your account only you nobody should have access to your tickets except for you, but if somebody steals your ticket and goes sign your ticket that you paid for just like somebody can break in your house and steal your ticket

4/09/2026 02:09 - Margaret G.

It not my job to reach out to anyone and let them know about the game. As a player having the problem it my responsibility to let you know what problems I’ve encountered and I’ve done that twice. Now that you’ve received the complaint it your job to get it to the correct department to get the problem fixed. Stop expected customers to do what you all are paid to do. Get the game fixed to work properly through a play cycle or take it down until the problem is resolved

4/08/2026 07:16 - Melissa L.

Congratulations!

4/08/2026 06:23 - Berry B.

WOW, congratulations

4/08/2026 02:06 - Margaret G.

Every time I play cowboy look and get the bonus wheel the game NEVER plays through a message come up about connection problems.i keep saying the game is incomplete. I keep playing the game over and the same thing happens over and over. You cannot play because of the game not being complete. This is the only game that constantly kicks me out when a bonus round come. If a game is not playing properly all the way through you should take the game day until the flaw is corrected. This is my second time sending in a comment about how this game plays. I want to see my games played through and not have to look at the play history to see the outcome of the game. Fix the problem or take it off site until the game is fixed to play as it should.NC Lottery
Thank you for reaching out about this, Margaret, and we're sorry you're experiencing this issue. If you reach out to our Online Support team at https://nclottery.com/Help, we can look into this further for you.

4/08/2026 11:08 - roberta n.

Congratulation's

4/08/2026 10:23 - Diane M.

I don't understand why if you win the million but choose the lump sum. you only get 600,000 which they tax and not the million. So you lose 400,000 at the start. Doesn't seem fair!!NC Lottery
Hi, Diane! The difference between the annuity and lump sum amounts accounts for the interest that would be earned and used to pay out the prize over time if the player chose the annual payments option. Whichever a winner chooses is up to them, though we're required to withhold minimum state (3.99%) and federal (24%) taxes from either option.

4/08/2026 09:58 - Christy Y.

Happy for you Moe and Little Bit....

4/08/2026 09:56 - komal v.

Congratulations!!

4/08/2026 02:28 - Robert f.

Congratulations nice win, hope I will be next to win the top prize maybe one of these days I willNC Lottery
Wishing you the best of luck, Robert!

4/07/2026 11:56 - MORRIS B.

Awesome ??. Hopefully my big win is soonNC Lottery
We're crossing our fingers for you, Morris!

4/07/2026 11:49 - DANIEL K.

Congratulations

4/07/2026 11:49 - DANIEL K.

Congratulations

4/07/2026 10:22 - john T.

The ol’ win where you work trick. When will ncel ban playing where you work. They have an advantage and ncel turns a blind eye and says everyone has same odds . They don’t . If you are a retailer and selling tickets for your 8 or 10 hour shift, you as a retailer see how many tickets you are selling and of what ticket . Let’s say you sell 20 tickets off a 30 ticket roll and most are scratched in store or in their car then they come back in for a quick 20$ ,30$ winner . You as a retailer see that a big ticket has not went yet and you are able to buy the rest to way better your odds for a big win . That’s the advantage! Please ncel tell me I’m wrong !

4/07/2026 09:46 - roland r.

nice

4/07/2026 09:08 - Michael N.

WAY TO GO, MR. MO! WE'RE SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!

4/07/2026 08:09 - Regina D.

Congratulations on your

4/07/2026 03:19 - Paula F.

Congratulations ????

4/07/2026 02:51 - Roger K.

Oh,no! A winner from his own store, I wonder, does he pay for this ticket, or wonder how many he had to through to find a winning ticket. Wish I had my own store to get my tickets from. Congrats anyway on your win.

4/07/2026 02:47 - Angela A.

LOL! @NCEL how many tickets have been purchased at the store the WINNER work to win Huge Prize? I have heard of this before....NC Lottery
Hi, Angela! While there is no law in North Carolina barring retailers or their employees from playing the lottery, more than 80 percent of all lottery retailers in North Carolina report having a “No Play on Duty” policy for employees, including 99 percent of corporate retailers such as grocery and convenience store chains. Lottery prizes are only awarded when there is no evidence to suggest something is wrong.

Pender County man bags first $1 million top prize in new game

April 7, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 2:05 PM

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