Several lucky players in North Carolina have won big after playing the NC Education Lottery’s games. One of the most recent winners was a player who won the first top prize in one of the lottery’s latest scratch-off tickets.
Wheel of Fortune Delivered Its First Top Prize
According to the lottery’s announcements on August 11, one of the recent winners was Josue Sibrian Guere, an NC man who bought his winning ticket from a shop in Greenville. The lottery added that Stop Express 2 on Charles Boulevard in Greenville was where the magic happened.
The ticket that netted Guere the life-changing sum was a Wheel of Fortune ticket, a fairly new game featuring top prizes of $200,000. As fate had it, Guere won the first top prize from that game.
The winner visited the lottery HQ on Monday, August 10, and chose to receive his winnings as a one-time payment. After required state and federal tax withholdings, Guere took home $144,021.
As of the time of this writing, the Wheel of Fortune game features four unclaimed top prizes of $200,000.
Triple Red 777 Jackpot Made One Guy $1M Richer
Another big scratch-off winner was Raymond Johnson of Bunnlevel, who scratched off a ticket while sitting on his front porch, only to realize he had won a $1 million prize. The player won the life-changing sum from a $10 Triple Red 777 Jackpot ticket purchased from Super Save on N.C. 27 West in Lillington.
Johnson visited the lottery HQ Monday, choosing to go with the one-time lump sum of $600,000. After taxes, he took home $432,061.
In an interview with lottery officials, the man said that he plans to use the money to buy a new house – something he had already been considering.
At launch, the Triple Red 777 Jackpot game featured three top prizes of $1 million, only one of which remains unclaimed.
Lucky Player Scooped Up 20% of the Fast Play Jackpot
Another winner announced on August 11 was Lori Sunseri of Wilmington, who won the Fast Play jackpot after buying a $2 Bingo Bucks ticket. At the time of her win, the jackpot stood at $909,410, meaning that Sunseri won $181,882, equivalent to 20% of the entire prize. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $130,974.
For reference, Fast Play games feature an instantly growing jackpot that increases with every ticket sold. Winners can redeem a portion of the jackpot or the entirety of it, depending on the price of the eligible ticket they bought.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the jackpot stood at $758,000.