Shelton Fitts of Raleigh is celebrating his good fortune after he won the last top prize in the $2,500 A Week for Life game.
Fitts bought the $5 scratch-off ticket at the T&D Energy Store on Wake Forest Road in Raleigh.
He claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. The top prize is $2,500 A Week For Life. The guaranteed value of the prize is at least $2.6 million to a winner or his designated estate, but payment continues throughout a winner’s life. Top prize winners can also choose to claim their winnings as a lump sum with the cash value equal to the guaranteed prize amount. Fitts took the lump sum, which after required state and federal withholdings is $1,228,779
The ticket launched in July 2014 with three top prizes. Fitts claimed the last top prize, which means the lottery will take steps to end the game.
Ticket sales from games like $2,500 A Week for Life made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million for the state last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.