A decision to try a new game turned into a $1 million win for Jovonte Sellers of Charlotte after he played the Ultimate Millions scratch-off game.
Sellers was getting gas at the Easy Shop on East W.T. Harris Boulevard in Charlotte when he bought the $30 ticket.
“I normally play the $1 scratch-off games,” Sellers said. “But I just wanted to try something new.”
When Sellers scratched the ticket, he couldn’t believe what he saw. “I kept asking myself,” Sellers said. “Is this real?”
It became real as he claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum and after federal and state tax withholdings received $415,509. He plans to use some of the money to buy a new car and go on a family vacation to Hawaii.
Ultimate Millions launched in September 2015 with four top prizes of $10 million, and 18 prizes of $1 million. Two $10 million prizes and six $1 million prizes remain to be won instantly.
Ticket sales from games like Ultimate Millions made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how almost $352.6 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Mecklenburg County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.