RALEIGH – Someone who played the new Lucky for Life game in Fayetteville won a prize Thursday night that lasts a lifetime: $25,000 a year for life.
The ticket was sold at the Kangaroo Express on Cliffdale Road. It beat odds of 1 in 1.8 million to match all five white balls drawn. The winning numbers were 2-12-18-20-22 for the white balls and 12 for the gold Lucky Ball.
The $25,000 a year for life prize is the second prize in the game, which offers a top prize of $1,000 a day for life. The lifetime prizes are guaranteed to a winner or a winner’s estate for a minimum of 20 years – but a winner will continue to receive prize payments for as long as he or she lives. The $25,000 a year for life prize can also be claimed as a one-time cash payment of $390,000.
It’s the second time this week – and already the second instance since Lucky for Life tickets went on sale in North Carolina last month – that a ticket sold in the state has won the second prize.
The first $25,000 a year for life prize was won Monday night by a truck driver from Stokes County. Henry Ford of Walnut Cove bought his lucky ticket at the Pop Shoppe on West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro. He collected his winnings Wednesday.
Whoever bought the lucky ticket for Thursday’s drawing has 180 days to visit lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim the prize. As a state agency, the lottery’s offices are closed Friday in observance of the Good Friday holiday and will re-open Monday morning.
On Feb. 7, North Carolina became the 20th U.S. Lottery to join the Lucky for Life game. Drawings are held Mondays and Thursdays at approximately 10:38 p.m.
Ticket sales make it possible for the lottery to earn on average $1.4 million a day for education. To see how lottery funds have made a difference in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties, visit the "For Education" page on the lottery’s website.